Generative AI is transforming software development. Large language models are good at human languages, but they’re even better at programming languages, which have much smaller vocabularies and fewer ways to combine words. Most importantly, code does something, so running it confirms whether it performs as intended. The result has been a democratization of development, much […]
Read moreLast month brought news of an unprecedented event in the evolution of AI. Several OpenAI models hacked a real company, not for malicious reasons, but because they decided that finding the test answers was more efficient than solving the problems themselves. This sounds like science fiction—it’s not far off the fictional Kobayashi Maru test in […]
Read moreApple just released macOS 26.6.1 Tahoe, macOS 15.7.9 Sequoia, and macOS 14.8.9 Sonoma solely to patch a vulnerability in Screen Sharing that could allow unauthenticated connections from attackers on the network. Yes, you should update, but also take a moment to visit System Settings > General > Sharing and turn off any sharing services you […]
Read moreAutomatic offloading of seldom-used apps can be a good strategy for recovering space on an iPhone whose storage is almost full, and iOS can do this for you in Settings > Apps > App Store > Offload Unused Apps. When you open an app that was offloaded, iOS will re-download it from the App Store […]
Read moreWe’ve all ended up with a collection of random USB-C cables that arrived with devices, were purchased while traveling, or were left by visitors. But you can’t look at a cable to determine its data speed, how much power it can carry, or whether it’s hampering display quality. You could buy a hardware tester, but […]
Read moreWe’ve become accustomed to being able to get nearly anything we want—including Macs—overnight, or at least within a couple of days. Unfortunately, surging demand from AI data centers has created a global memory shortage that’s squeezing the consumer electronics industry. As a result, we’re seeing both higher Mac prices and significantly longer delivery times as […]
Read moreIf you want to secure your online accounts, a password manager is the best way to do this. Using a password manager offers the following advantages:
Read moreApple released macOS 26.6 Tahoe, iOS 26.6, and iPadOS 26.6 with a huge number of fixes for security vulnerabilities. However, the release notes for each also include an unusual comment along the lines of “optimizes the Spotlight index in preparation for macOS 27.” At WWDC, Apple promised a rearchitected Spotlight search engine that would be […]
Read moreIf you know that a snow storm is approaching your home, do you prepare? Perhaps you stock up on some extra food, test your flashlight or your generator. Do you need to prepare? No, but you’ve likely learned that it’s better to prepare than to pay the price of running low on milk, bread, batteries, … Read more
If you are often late to or miss meetings because Apple’s notifications are too easy to ignore, we recommend trying the In Your Face app. Available for the Mac, Windows, iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch, In Your Face displays unmissable full-screen alerts and plays audible alarms for calendar events and timed reminders. Unlike standard notifications […]
Read moreIf you’re considering setting up a new email account and want a free one, here are my recommendations for Mac users. Get either an iCloud email account, from Apple, or a Proton Mail account from Proton, a Swiss company. Not all free email accounts are the same. As you consider your options please keep in … Read more
You undoubtedly know about pressing Command-Tab to bring up the macOS App Switcher and mousing to the app you want to switch to. Keyboard jockeys probably even know to keep holding Command down while pressing Tab or right-arrow to cycle to the right (press Shift-Tab, the grave accent/tilde key, or left-arrow to cycle to the […]
Read moreIf you’ve had trouble moving from hunt-and-peck typing on the iPhone to the double-thumb typing approach many people prefer, consider QuickPath, better known as swipe typing. QuickPath isn’t new, but many people have never tried it seriously. With swipe typing, you put your finger down on the first letter of the desired word—say “giraffe”—and then […]
Read moreControl Center debuted on the iPhone over a decade ago in iOS 7 and made its way to the Mac in 2020 with macOS 11 Big Sur. However, through macOS 15 Sequoia, Mac users who wanted to tweak Control Center for their needs were limited to turning specific controls on or off. With macOS 26 […]
Read moreWhen ChatGPT launched in late 2022, using it was simple: you typed a prompt, and it generated text in response. That text came from a statistical model trained on data available at the time. If you asked ChatGPT about anything that had happened more recently, it either couldn’t help or would confidently make stuff up. […]
Read moreAt some point, most of our communications shifted from analog to digital: letters and phone calls became emails, texts, and video calls. With analog methods, we could generally assume that our private communications would remain private. Few people were going to steam open a letter or wiretap a phone line. The Internet changed that—digital communications, […]
Read moreThe next time you’re flying, driving, or biking to visit an iPhone-using friend or relative, try sharing your location temporarily so they can check in on your progress without constant “where are you now?” texts. In iOS 17 and later, open a Messages conversation with that person, tap the ⊕ button to the left of […]
Read moreThere’s no way to put a positive spin on this: Apple has raised prices across most of its product lineup, with increases averaging 20% on Macs, iPads, HomePods, the Apple TV, and even the Vision Pro. The iPhone and Apple Watch remain unaffected… for now. The price hikes took effect on June 25. In a […]
Read moreThe simple answer to “When should you upgrade?” is when your device no longer does what you need, or when you want something new. But that’s not helpful if you’re trying to make an informed decision—is there a sweet spot when it makes more sense to upgrade rather than squeeze another year out of your […]
Read moreApple’s Dictation feature is a great way to avoid slow typing on the iPhone and iPad, and it can be welcome on the Mac as well. But it struggles with proper nouns—it guesses wildly at unfamiliar names and often fails to capitalize common words that are part of a name (so you get “New York […]
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