Mac OS Tips Features
How To: Unlock Your Mac Using Your iPhone's Touch ID or Lock Screen Passcode
Apple's Touch ID, introduced on the iPhone 5S, has definitely made my life a little easier. Not only can I unlock my device, I can use the tech to log in to websites, make purchases through iTunes, and buy groceries at Walgreens using just my fingerprint. Still, as awesome as Touch ID is, it's pretty limited as to what it can do on native apps.
How To: Seamlessly Use Your Mac's Keyboard and Mouse on Your iPad or Another Mac
With the release of iOS 15.4, iPadOS 15.4, and macOS 12.3, Apple unleashed a ton of new features. We saw a preview of one of the most anticipated new features way back in June 2021 when it was announced at WWDC, and now it's finally available for everyone with an iPad and Mac.
How To: Get Apple's RSS Visualizer Back as a Screensaver in Mac OS X 10.8 & Higher
Back in the day when computers relied on CRT monitors, having a static image displayed for too long actually resulted in the image being burned into the screen. For this reason, screensavers were developed, which display animated images in constant motion to prevent burning in when you stepped away from your computer.
How To: Keep Your MacBook Awake with the Display Closed
It's pretty logical for your MacBook to sleep when you close its lid, but under certain circumstances, you may not necessarily want this feature to kick in.
How To: The Ultimate Must-Know Guide to Securely Deleting Private Files & Folders from Your Mac Forever
I was kinda disappointed with last year's James Bond movie, Skyfall. Don't get me wrong, it was a solid flick, but only made me jealous with all its super spy hacker stuff.
How To: Connect an External Display to Your MacBook, MacBook Air, or MacBook Pro
If you have no desire to get a separate Mac desktop computer, but want to either supersize your laptop's screen for gaming or need to get additional screen real estate while you work, then connecting your MacBook, MacBook Air, or MacBook Pro to an external display is the right call.
How To: Customize Your Mac's Top Keys to Control Either Functions or Built-in Features Without Using “Fn”
Mac keyboards are great when listening to music or watching a movie, since you can control what's playing without going back into iTunes or QuickTime Player. However, when you're using an app like Photoshop that uses the F7, F8, and F9 as shortcuts, it gets pretty annoying to have to hold down the Fn key. Why can't you just hit the back, play/pause, and skip buttons alone?
How To: The Single Most Useful Keyboard Shortcut Every Mac User Should Know
Keyboard shortcuts can make using your Mac faster and easier, and leave your mouse feeling archaic. With just a few taps, you can save files, open new tabs, or play a movie—all without using your mouse even once.
How To: Protect Yourself from macOS High Sierra's Glaring Empty-Password Security Flaw
There's a new macOS vulnerability that hackers within physical reach of your computer can use to gain root access to your system and accounts. Just by using "root" as the username and a blank password on a privilege escalation prompt, someone can install malware on your computer, access hidden files, reset your passwords, and more. Root access gives them the ability to do anything they want.
How To: Organize Your Mac's Dock by Adding Blank Spaces as App Icon Dividers
Terminal is powerful tool that every Mac OS X user should explore. With it, we've shown you how to save iPhone voicemails, extract and back up text messages, and even check for vulnerabilities in your system, all using commands issued from within Terminal.
How To: Increase the Sound & Quality of Your Mac's Speakers
During a power outage at my apartment this year, I watched movies on my MacBook Pro instead of on my television. While I had no complaints about the screen size, I did have an issue with how low the audio coming from my speakers was. External speakers would help, but I don't want to buy them or lug them around every time I want to watch a movie.
How To: Prank Your Apple Friends with 1,000s of iMessages in Just One Click
Apple scrubbed the floor clean of all existing text-bombing apps in the iOS App Store, and even though there were once a ton of these apps in Cydia, the go-to store for jailbroken devices, there few and far between these days. If they do exist, they either cost money or don't work as advertised.
How To: Organize Your Cluttered Mac Desktop with Desktop Groups' Clean Fence-Like Folders
My desktop usually looks like this... Cluttered as hell. As someone who needs to take screenshots all of the time, my desktop starts looking more and more like my college dorm room. It's also annoying because I misplace certain files and find myself downloading three of the same thing. This not only takes up visual space, but memory space.
How To: Add Custom or Pre-Made HTML5 Widgets to Your Mac's Desktop
Apple hasn't been the most avid supporter of widgets over the years. Yes, they added them to the Notification Center in Yosemite, but that requires a drawer to be opened and closed whenever you want to check them. In my search for a better solution, I came across Ubersicht by developer Felix Hageloh.
How To: The Ultimate Guide to Password-Protecting Files & Folders in Mac OS X Yosemite
While you may not have loads of secret files hiding on your computer, there might be one or two items that need a little extra security, like a file of website logins or a folder of risqué photos.
How To: Use WhatsApp on Your Mac (A Guide for Both Android & iPhone Users)
Boasting over 800 million users a month, WhatsApp has quickly become one of the most popular messaging services available today. Thanks to its low price, ease of use, lack of ads, cross-platform functionality, and great features, its popularity is well-deserved.
How To: Temporarily Override Your Mac's Sleep & Screen Saver Settings from the Menu Bar
Although sleep mode and screen savers contribute to the security and energy preservation of my MacBook, it can become a nuisance when they initiate unwelcomely. Yes, I could just change these settings in System Preferences, but to do this every time I momentarily leave my Mac unattended would be tedious, to say the least.
How To: Watch Videos While You Work with This Floating Translucent Window for Mac
Like most people who spend a good deal of time in front of their computer—whether for work, school, or play—I jump back and forth from window to window, working and playing with different things at the same time to get my work done faster or procrastinate harder.
How To: 13 Terminal Commands Every Mac User Should Know
When you think of Terminal, you probably imagine some hacker sitting in front of their computer in a dimly lit room trying to break into an FBI database. In reality, it's just a simple tool that can make using your Mac much easier.
How To: Adjust Your Mac's Volume in Quarter Increments (And Silence the Sound Effect)
Sometimes, the volume buttons on a MacBook can be pretty annoying. It's too loud, so you turn it down one notch, and now you can't hear your movie at all. It's too low, so you turn it up one notch, and now you can't even hear yourself think.
How To: 10 Reasons Why You'll Want to Use Screen Savers Again on Your Mac
Yes, screen savers are fun to look at for a few seconds, but those animations actually used to serve a purpose beyond simple entertainment.
How To: Mimic Your iPhone's Lock Screen in Mac OS X with This iOS-Style Screensaver
The iOS 7 release brought with it many new aesthetic upgrades, from new flat, vibrant icons to a sleeker text messaging interface. Another small, yet noticeable, difference is the minimal and clean lock screen, which removed the overbearing "Slide to Unlock" background bar in lieu of just the text.
How To: Turn Off MacBook Pro Screen with the Lid Open and Using an External Monitor
This is a working solution for those using an external monitor on their MacBook Pro's running Yosemite. The previous terminal commands for Mavericks no longer works on Yosemite, so this how to do it.
How To: Disable Password Prompts When Downloading Free Apps in the Mac App Store
Whether you want to edit photos, compress files, play games, or DJ your next party, there's a free Mac app that can help you out. But things can get annoying real fast if you download a lot of free apps from the Mac App Store, since you have to type in your Apple ID password each time.
How To: Trick Your MacBook's Touch ID into Registering Twice as Many Fingerprints for Each Account
While Touch ID has been a part of the iPhone's legacy since 2013, Apple waited until 2016 to add biometrics to its MacBook lineup, and it's not as impressive. An iPhone with Touch ID can register up to five fingerprints, but Macs can only register a maximum of three per account. If that seems unfair, there's an easy trick to doubling that number, meaning six of your fingerprints could unlock your laptop!
How To: Rename Multiple Files at Once in Mac OS X Yosemite
With the sheer amount of photos, videos, and miscellaneous files we place on our computers, proper organization becomes necessary. Not only so that we can quickly get to a file when it's needed, but also to declutter folders and keep them from looking like random file dumps.
How To: Get the Transparent 3D Dock Back in Mac OS X Yosemite
While change is good, it isn't always welcomed. All software updates with radical redesigns and brand-new features bring at least a few complaints from those accustomed to previous versions. iOS 7 got a lot of flak from iOS 6 users, as did iOS 8 from iOS 7 users.
How To: 6 Tweaks You Should Be Using on Your Mac Right Now
All of Apple's products are praised for being extremely easy to use. So much so, that your grandma can pick one up and be a "pro" within a few hours. However, this isn't necessarily a good thing for us real power users who want more granular control of our devices.
How To: Give Your MacBook's Battery a Longer, Healthier Life with These Power Tips
Apple's MacBook line of laptops is quite famous for their extensive battery life, thanks to various technologies that Apple has utilized. However, all things must pass, and over time your MacBook's battery will degrade. Certain use scenarios can accelerate the degradation of the battery—from excessive usage to high temperatures to overloading the system—and this can all lead to the untimely obliteration of your battery.
How To: Change OS X’s Annoying Default Settings Using Terminal
When setting up a new Mac, there can be a bunch of settings that need to be changed in order to get the system running the way you like it. That usually involves going through tons of System Preferences panes and app settings—but it doesn't have to.
How To: Make Phone Calls Right from Yosemite's Notification Center
Thanks to Apple's implementation of Continuity on Mac OS X Yosemite and iOS 8, communication is truly a seamless thing. Without even looking at my iPhone, I can message or call friends comfortably from my computer or iPad.
How To: Take Window Screenshots Without Drop Shadows on Your Mac
There are many ways to take a screenshot in macOS (previously Mac OS X), but all of the well-known options give you a drop shadow in the picture when snapping application windows.
How To: Change Your Mac Icons
This how-to article is about changing you Mac icons. It goes into detail on how to make your dock icons a different image, like your favorite sports team or just a cool looking image.
How To: Hunt Down Space-Hogging Files on Your Mac with Disk Inventory X
I love my MacBook Air, but the fact that it runs on only 128 GB of flash storage causes me to move most of my files to the cloud. I don't mind having to be connected to the internet in order to access my files, but it's definitely a hassle trying to figure out which files I should move in order to save the most space. Usually, I don't even bother even trying until I see the dreaded "Your startup disk if almost full" warning. Currently, the only real way to find your biggest files in Mac OS X ...
How To: 10+ Time Saving Menu Bar Applications for Mac
If you‘re new to Mac, you may not realize that the Dock is not the only place you can access applications and folders. The menu bar of your desktop can also hold a dozen or more applications and plug-ins for easy access to lots of content on your computer.
How To: Make Your Screen Automatically Adjust to Eye-Friendly Color Tones
If you're like me, you spend a lot of time on your computer, which can be damaging to your eyes in the long run. Studies have shown that staring at a computer screen or television up close for extended periods of time can have harmful effects on your vision.
How To: Add a Second Dock to Your Mac That Responds to Gestures & Keyboard Shortcuts
The dock has been a staple of Mac OS X since its creation and not much has been needed to improve its functionality, but when you add theming to the mix, you can run into some issues.
How To: Make Calls & Texts from Your Mac Without OS X Yosemite
When OS X Yosemite was first announced, there were a number of features that struck my attention, but one in particular that stood out above them all was the ability to make and receive texts and phone calls from your Mac, which Apple calls Continuity.
How To: Activate the Little-Known Paper Tape Feature on Mac OS X's Calculator App
Calculator applications are standard on almost every computer and mobile device now, but they can be a pain to use. If you're performing longer equations, it can be really annoying to not be able to see the trail that shows how you got there.
How To: Skip Ads When Listening to iTunes Radio on Your Mac or iOS Device
iTunes Radio, Apple's answer to Pandora, provides endless hours of free music streaming, but like other so-called "free" services, every now and then you're going to hear some ads. While you may not be bombarded with them, they can definitely kill the vibe when you're jamming to your favorite stations.