The built-in Notes app in OS X and iOS is a great way to gather and organize your thoughts. It can be especially powerful when used in conjunction with the Apple Pencil on an iPad Pro (even without the Apple Pencil, the drawing features are very useful).
If you're like me, you know it's a good idea to tidy up once in a while by deleting notes that you know yo won't need anymore (quick drawings, reminders to yourself, etc). A quick swipe on the note and tap on "Delete" is all it takes to delete notes. Because it's so easy to delete, however, you may find yourself deleting notes that you didn't want to delete. There's a quick and easy way to recover those deleted notes.
There are certain apps that I use al the time. I mean ALL the time. Mail, Calendar, Safari, etc are some of the ones that you would expect, but one that you may not expect (for someone who does what I do) is PhotoShop. It's an incredibly powerful (and versatile) image-editing tool that allows you to do some really amazing things. The problem is, it can be expensive. It can be hard to justify the cost when the average user wouldn't use more than 20% of what it can do.
There are a lot of PhotoShop alternatives available on the market, but there's really only one that I would (highly) recommend for Mac users...
When OS X El Capitan (10.11) was released in September, it came with some really great improvements. One of those improvements was a way to use two apps at the same time in a way that both apps are easy to view and are both seemingly in the forefront. Apple calls this Split View.
While it's easy to use Split View once you know how to use it, it can be a little confusing at first because it's not as intuitive as you would think. In the spirit of helping to improve your personal productivity, I thought I would show you a few simple tricks.
I love it when I come across super cool tricks in OS X that are also super easy to use. Enhanced Dictation is a feature that certainly fits that criteria.
Voice Dictation was originally introduced to OS X with Mountain Lion (10.8), and has been improved over time. To use Dictation, you simply press the Fn (Function) key twice, speak what's on your mind, then press the Fn key again to let the system know that you are done (read more about how Dictation works here). There were two problems with Dictation when it was first introduced: 1) it would only work if you were connected to the Internet (bad news for frequent travelers) and 2) it would only allow you to speak your mind in short blurbs... up to 30 seconds. After that, it cuts you off. Enter... Enhanced Dictation!
On my desk, I have a MacBook Pro with an external Thunderbolt display. I have the two connected so that I can drag windows from my laptop's screen to my external screen. It's really slick. Next to my Thunderbolt display, I have a newer model iMac. While it's nice to have a second Mac for testing, etc right next to me, it would be nice to be able to use that as a third screen for my MacBook Pro on occasion.
Believe it or not, it's not only possibly, but it works great! It's called Target Display Mode and all you need is a Thunderbolt cable to go between the MacBook Pro and iMac. Here's how it works.
Apple's built-in mail application (appropriately named Mail) is a fantastic email client for many reasons. The biggest advantage is the searchability that it offers. In addition to incredible searching, Mail also has some really nice tools built-in for troubleshooting account access issues (incorrect password, error in the settings, etc).
If you can’t send or receive email on your Mac, you can use Mail Connection Doctor to learn more about the issue. Mail Connection Doctor checks the status of your Internet connection and each of your email accounts.
I love teaching people, including showing off new tricks and ways to improve their efficiency on their iPhone. There is a huge amount of power contained within these devices, and quick training sessions can help to unleash that power for the end-user. The problem is that it can be challenging to do this when you are remote. You can only go so far with, "Tell me what you see on your phone now".
In today's tech tip, I am going to show you an easy way to create a video screencast of your iPhone. Creating screencasts is a great way to really convey what it is you are trying to show off. Just like a screen recording of your laptop, a screencast of your iPhone is a video recording of exactly what you see on your iPhone's screen. This is super handy for training opportunities and helpful when showing off your favorite apps. Powerful? Oh yeah!
Having your own personalized font is more than just cool or fun, it can be useful. Many years ago, I had a professional typeface designer create my own font for me, and I called it "Kevin's Hand". I still use it all the time for filling out forms, writing personalized notes and more. While super-useful to have, to cost a pretty penny to create (around $400, if I remember correctly).
What would you say if I told you that you can create your own custom font in a matter of minutes using your iPad, and that it would cost you less than $10? I know, right?! And what if I told you that this font could be used on your iPhone, iPad and even your Mac? It's all true. Read more to find out how.
If you are fortunate enough to own and use an Apple Watch, you know how beautiful the watch faces are. Whether you prefer a simple, elegant design or something a little more functional, the quality and functionality is near-perfect.
I've been looking high and low for an equally impressive watch face for my Mac in the form of a screensaver, but my searching has been in vein... until now.
It seems to be more and more common that Safari seemingly randomly pops up with a message to let you know that your Mac has been infected with malicious or suspicious activity. In fact, it's not random at all, and is usually caused by accidentally visiting unfortunate sites (most commonly when we enter a URL slightly incorrectly).
Unfortunately, the message will make it sound ultra-scary and the only way to fix the issue is to call a number for immediate support. DO NOT CALL the number listed! They will tell you that they are contracted by Apple to resolve this issue when in fact, they are not. There is absolutely no connection to Apple at all. In fact, very bad things will happen if you do this (resulting in loss of data, compromised credit cards and other bank accounts). Fortunately, there is an easy fix for this that takes about 15-20 seconds.
The Notes app gained a major security feature when Apple released the free updates to iOS 9.3 and OS X 10.11.4,.. the ability to securely lock individual notes! This is a welcome improvement for many of us who store secure information in the Notes app.
Using this new security feature may not be obvious to many, but because I think everyone should know how to use it, I will walk you through it step-by-step. Here we go!
Apple quietly released an update to OS X (10.11.4) today to compliment and support the new features released with iOS 9.3. Both updates (OS X 10.11.4 and iOS 9.3) are available now as free downloads. To get your copy, visit the Mac App Store and click on the "Updates" tab.
Apple held their much-anticipated March 21 media event today. The event was held at their very own on-campus theater and streamed live. Below are notes from the event.
Mac OS X is designed to make our lives better in many ways. Most of the time, it works to our advantage, but sometimes, Apple includes features that don’t necessarily help, and even slightly hinder our productivity. Today’s post discusses one of those features.
When we restart our computer (by going to > Restart…), we are given one additional prompt before the computer restarts. If you look closely, you will see an option that most people quickly overlook (if they even notice it at all) before simple pressing “Restart".
Maybe it’s because I spend a LOT of time on a keyboard, or maybe it’s because I’m lazy, but I don’t enjoy handwriting. Not just longer documents like letters, but even short notes. That also includes envelopes (like USPS envelopes).
Many years ago, I decided to come up with a solution to this problem. Since then, I used it for myself and never really talked about it until the other day, I mentioned this simple idea to a friend, and he was blown away by it. It’s certainly not Earth-shattering, but it’s convenient and can help to add a touch of professionalism (great for small businesses).
