If you use an iCloud email account, here are instructions on how to set up an email auto-reply message. An iCloud email account ends in either mac.com, me.com, or icloud.com. An auto-reply can be helpful if you’re going to be traveling or otherwise not able to reply to email in a timely manner.
Read moreDo you use Apple’s Mail application? Would you like to quickly locate a reply email message you sent? Imagine you received a message in your Inbox and that you replied to it. After you send the reply, Mail inserts a curved, leftward-pointing arrow, as depicted in the image below.
Read moreIf you use Time Machine to backup your Mac to an external hard drive, here are some basics that you can check if backups are no longer occurring.
Read moreMost of us tend to simultaneously keep many applications open. Consequently, we sometimes get lost or overwhelmed by having too many windows open. Would you like to quickly hide all windows so you can see your Desktop? Here are two ways to accomplish this:
Read moreHave you bought a new MacBook Air or Retina-Display MacBook Pro to replace your older MacBook? If so, you might have noticed that the power adapter that came with your new laptop has a thinner connector on it. The thinner connector is called a MagSafe 2 connector. Apple introduced these in 2012 as a replacement … Read more
Do you type the same information into email messages or Word documents? If so, you would benefit from using a text expander. Text expanders let you create abbreviations then whenever the abbreviation is typed it inserts a word, phrase, sentence or paragraph that you designated. For example, you could create the abbreviation ‘addr. When you type ‘addr … Read more
Throughout the day I often use the Find command. I encourage you to incorporate it into your daily habits. I use it most frequently within documents to find a particular word or phrase. Here are some examples of how I use the Find command.
Read moreBacking up your iPhone or iPad is important because it permits you to recover all of your applications, personal data including photos stored on the device. It also allows you to recover text messages and call history on the iPhone. Apple provides two ways to backup your iPhone or iPad and I typically recommend using both methods.
Read moreDo you carry your laptop and assorted accessories in your bag? If you’re like me, you carry a power cord, earphones, a USB flash drive, a few cables and adapters, etc. I grew tired of sorting through a pile of accessories trying to find what I needed. I ended up buying a small Cocoon Grid-It … Read more
Apple Mail lets you assign one or more signatures to each of your email accounts. This flexibility is great, but the user interface to make this happen is not intuitive. It’s easy to do, but it’s much easier to be shown how to do it the first time. Here are instructions for creating signatures in Mail … Read more
DuckDuckGo is a search engine that is much less well-known than Google, but you should check it out. As the title of this article indicates, DuckDuckGo is a privacy-friendly alternative to Google.
Read moreAs many of you may have heard or read, the World Wide Web, more commonly call the Web, turned 25 in March 2014. While conversing with friends and clients I became aware of a common misconception — that the Internet and the Web are the same thing. They are not the same thing. They are … Read more
Your Mac may be storing extra iPhone and iPad backups. If so, they are wasting hard drive storage space. Here are instructions on how you can easily view a list of all iPad and iPhone backups and remove the extras.
Read moreAre you tired of untangling knotted up earphones? If so, check out Digital Innovations’ Nest earbud case. The Nest is an innovative and affordable way to store your earphones (aka earbuds) in a tidy manner. A few months ago, I bought a Nest for $10 and love it. I’ll attempt to describe the Nest in … Read more
I recently replaced my two-and-a-half year old iPhone with a new iPhone. This reminded me that it’s typically not a good value to hold onto your iPhone for many years. Here are two reasons for this belief:
Read moreHere are some tips on how to easily create and manage bullet lists in Apple’s Mail application.
Read moreDo you know how fast your Internet connection is? What is the unit used for measuring Internet connection speeds? How fast does your Internet connection need to be if you want to stream a movie from Netflix or a similar service?
Read moreThis week’s Tech Tip is a cautionary tale. Backups Don’t Exist Unless You Test Them. This adage may not make immediate sense to you, but let me explain. It is extremely important to test your backups by actually restoring one or more files. If you don’t know that you can successfully restore a file from … Read more
Do you get overwhelmed by all of the technical terms you encounter? Would you like to get simple definitions for USB, broadband, tether, Wi-Fi or big data? If so, check out the Computer Desktop Encyclopedia (CDE) web site.
Read moreWould you like to know more about the strength of your Mac’s wireless (Wi-Fi) connection? If so, hold down the Option key and click on the Wi-Fi menu located near the clock in the upper right corner of your Mac’s screen. You’ll notice that additional details about your currently selected wireless network are displayed. I should … Read more