Everybody should have an off-site backup of their data. Off-site backups are good protection against fire, floods, burglaries, earthquakes and similar events. These are rare events, but over the past 20 years, I’ve seen all of these events occur and affect client data. As you design your backup system keep in mind the primary 3-2-1 rule. … Read more
Here’s a list of common ways to eject a disk from a Mac. This disk could be a CD, a DVD, a USB flash drive or an external hard drive. Some Apple keyboards have an eject key. It is commonly located in the upper right corner of the keyboard. Press the eject key to eject … Read more
Did you know that your iCloud username and password, your iTunes Store username and password and your AppleID username and password are all the same? Please re-read that last sentence and give it time to sink in. I commonly hear from frustrated computers users who don’t understand this important fact. All too often, when I look … Read more
I recommend that everybody keep a USB mouse and USB keyboard handy. Whether you use a Bluetooth keyboard and mouse or ones connected by USB cables, I think you should keep a spare keyboard and mouse and this spare set should have USB cables. I recommend this for a couple of reasons. The primary reason is … Read more
Here’s an overview of how to install a major upgrade to OS X. For example, if you would like to upgrade from OS X Yosemite (aka OS X 10.10) to OS X El Capitan (aka OS X 10.11) then you could follow the instructions below. (These instructions assume you have at least OS X 10.6.8 or … Read more
Do you have an iPhone? Here are two undocumented features that I use everyday on my iPhone. Silence incoming calls – You can instantly silence an incoming phone call by pressing either of the volume buttons. By pressing one of the volume buttons one time you’ll immediately silence your phone if it’s ringing or buzzing. Jump … Read more
Would you like to be able to export some or all of your email messages as PDF files that you can store in a regular folder on your Mac? If so, check out Email Archiver Pro (time-limited demo version available). Previously, I wrote about how to archive email if you use Microsoft Outlook (or Entourage) and using EagleFiler to archive … Read more
Does your Fujitsu ScanSnap document scanner have problems feeding documents? I love my ScanSnap and have used it nearly every day for many years. It finally had problems reliably grabbing pages and feeding them. The pages’ leading edge would get stuck and I’d have to fuss a bit to get the paper to feed properly. Earlier … Read more
Do the fans on your Mac make a lot of noise? In a sense, this is not a bad thing, but it it is worth investigating to try to figure out what is going on. Typically, the fans in your Mac are running all the time. They are just running at relatively slow speeds so they … Read more
Do you type on your iPhone? If so, you should make sure you know these four typing tips. Tap the Space key twice at the end of a sentence. This inserts a period and a space and also activates the shift key. You’re now ready to type the next sentence without missing a beat. Hold down … Read more
Would you like some guidance on selecting a new iPad? Clients often ask me to help them select an iPad since this has become a more complicated choice. When Apple first introduced the iPad in Jan 2010, there was only 1 screen-size and a few decisions that needed to be made. Now, iPads come in 3 screen sizes … Read more
Have you ever had problems locating your Library folder on your Mac? If so, let me help you locate it. There are two complicating factors. First, there are typically three Library folders on the Mac so locating the correct one can be tough. Second, Apple made one of these three Library folders invisible starting with OS X Lion … Read more
[Note 3/17/23: It appears the TarDisk is no longer in business] Is your MacBook Air or MacBook Pro running low on storage space? If so you could consider installing a TarDisk which will increase your available storage space. A TarDisk is not your only option, but it’s an easy option that appeals to some. A TarDisk … Read more
Do you organize your digital pictures using Albums in either iPhoto or its replacement, Photos? If so, did you know that you can sort your albums? iPhoto lets you manually sort or re-sort your albums by name. Photos lets you keep your albums sorted by either name or date.
Read moreWould you like some guidance on selecting a new printer? Clients often ask me to recommend a good printer or tell them which printer they should buy. These requests are actually surprisingly difficult for two reasons. First, there are numerous printer manufacturers and each company makes a range of printer models which are often updated yearly so it … Read more
Do you have dozens or hundreds of messages that you want to delete from your iPhone? Here are two ways to delete multiple messages. [Be aware, that if you’re using an IMAP or Exchange email account that when you delete a message from your Inbox on your iPhone that it’ll be deleted from your Mac’s … Read more
Do your friends send you a lot of photos and videos as attachments to text messages? If so, these photos and videos could be consuming a fair amount of space on your iPhone or iPad. I recommend that you periodically review these images, save the ones that you want and then delete them. Here are instructions on … Read more
Some iPhone or iPad problems are only resolved by restoring your iPhone or iPad to factory settings. Apple’s support article details how to restore an iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch. Restoring a device is definitively one of the last techniques I invoke when troubleshooting iPhone or iPad problems. I have only invoked it when more traditional … Read more
Do you have an iPhone or iPad that you cannot access? Is it locked by a passcode that you have forgotten? If so, you will need to use Recovery Mode to regain access to this device. Apple’s support article describes how to use Recovery Mode. Here are some important caveats:
Read moreDo you get emails that you do not want to receive? We all do. I hope you know that you should often click the unsubscribe button which appears at the bottom of these emails to truly stop receiving those messages. But, do you know when you should not click the unsubscribe button? Here are some guidelines: Use the … Read more