Do you need help finding your Mac’s cursor?

Posted on by Tim Hannon in Aging Eyes, Computer Basics, Software

[October 2022.  See Sound Support’s updated post on Find Your Cursor Using Simple Mouse Locator]

If you ever struggle to find your Mac’s cursor then I recommend that you use MouseLocator. This free application puts a halo around the cursor to help your eyes locate it. You can configure how long the halo is displayed. It can be displayed for as little as half of a second, permanently or somewhere in between. You can also control how long the cursor must be idle before the halo will re-appear. Read More from “Do you need help finding your Mac’s cursor?”

Sip & Ship offers private mailbox, shipping, shredding and notary services

Posted on by Tim Hannon in Faxing, Seattle, Services, Shredding

I’ve been a long-time customer of Sip & Ship. It is a friendly one-stop shop that is a great resource for my one-person business. They offer a long list of business-related services which are available a la carte. They also offer coffee, muffins, sandwiches, greeting cards and personal gifts. It’s run by a husband and wife team, Diana and Steve, and their staff. I use their Ballard location. A few years ago they expanded and opened a second store in Greenwood. Read More from “Sip & Ship offers private mailbox, shipping, shredding and notary services”

How To Calibrate Your Macintosh Laptop’s Battery

Posted on by Tim Hannon in Hardware, Macintosh

All batteries will eventually experience diminished efficiency, storage capacity and will need to be replaced. However, regularly recalibrating your Lithium-ion battery will help to prolong your battery’s life and health, which will help reduce the frequency with which you’ll have to buy a new battery. Read More from “How To Calibrate Your Macintosh Laptop’s Battery”

How to Check Your Mac’s Hardware Warranty Coverage

Posted on by Tim Hannon in Apple, Companies, Computer Basics, Hardware, Macintosh

Do you want to check to see if your Mac is still under warranty from Apple? The technical support section of Apple’s web site lets you easily check to see if your Apple device is protected by either its built-in or the extended hardware warranty. Here are simple instructions on how to do so. Read More from “How to Check Your Mac’s Hardware Warranty Coverage”

How To Securely Erase A Mac’s Hard Drive

Posted on by Tim Hannon in macOS (formerly OS X), Security/Privacy, Software

Here are instructions on how to use Disk Utility to securely erase a hard drive connected internally or externally to your Mac. These instructions were written for Mac OS X 10.4 to 10.6. The process is very similar on older versions of Mac OS X, but the screens will look a bit different.  Read More from “How To Securely Erase A Mac’s Hard Drive”

How to Restore a File from Your Time Machine Backup

Posted on by Tim Hannon in Backup, Data Recovery, Local Backup, Time Machine

Testing your backup system is a critical, but often over-looked task. You need to monitor and test your backup system not only so you know that it’s properly copying your files, but more importantly so you learn how to use your backup system to retrieve a file. By practicing, you’ll be confident and ready when disaster strikes and you need to restore a file. Read More from “How to Restore a File from Your Time Machine Backup”

Testing Your Carbon Copy Cloner Full Backup

Posted on by Tim Hannon in Backup, Local Backup, Time Machine

Monitoring and testing a backup system are two critically important steps which many people skip. If you don’t consistently monitor and periodically test your backup system, you could be in for a big surprise when disaster strikes and you try to retrieve files from your backup system. Monitoring and testing gives you confidence that your backup is running properly. Read More from “Testing Your Carbon Copy Cloner Full Backup”

Setting Up Time Machine To Use Multiple Hard Drives

Posted on by Tim Hannon in Backup, Local Backup, Time Machine

Here are instructions on how to have Time Machine switch between two backup hard drives.

My recommendations for setting up a comprehensive backup system for your Mac include swapping between two external hard drives. While one hard drive is being used to backup your Mac the other drive is kept off-site in a secure location. Using multiple drives provides protection against fire, floods and burglars, which could affect both your Mac and the backup drive sitting next to it. Read More from “Setting Up Time Machine To Use Multiple Hard Drives”

How to Use Mail’s Previous Recipients List

Posted on by Tim Hannon in Email, Software

Did you know that Apple’s Mail application automatically builds a list of all recipients to whom you’ve sent email? I think it’s very useful to review this list a few times each year. By reviewing this list you can easily add useful email addresses to your Contacts and delete outdated email addresses or ones that contain typos. Read More from “How to Use Mail’s Previous Recipients List”

How to Remove and Re-Add a Printer’s Print Queue in Mac OS X 10.6

Posted on by Tim Hannon in macOS (formerly OS X), Printing, Services, Software

Here are instructions on how to remove and re-add a print queue. I commonly do this to fix printer issues. Somehow the old queue gets “damaged” and stops working properly. As long as you don’t mind losing any of the print jobs which may be sitting in the queue, go ahead and do the following: Read More from “How to Remove and Re-Add a Printer’s Print Queue in Mac OS X 10.6”

Tech Tips from Apple Including an Explanation of Symbols used in Keyboard Shortcuts

Posted on by Tim Hannon in Apple, Companies, Computer Basics, Getting Organized, Terminology

Apple produces their own technical tips for the Mac and iPhone. They are short how-to videos. Check them out. I’m sure you’ll find one or two that will teach you a new trick.

[Update: February 2018 – Apple Support now has a YouTube channel.]

 

Read More from “Tech Tips from Apple Including an Explanation of Symbols used in Keyboard Shortcuts”

How to Set Up a Comprehensive Macintosh Backup System

Posted on by Tim Hannon in Backup, CrashPlan, Local Backup, Online backup, Time Machine

The focus of this article is to describe the essential components of a comprehensive backup system for your Macintosh computer. This article’s recommendations are appropriate for anybody with between one and a few Macs which they would like to backup. If you have a larger network of Macs, then other applications and approaches would be more appropriate. Read More from “How to Set Up a Comprehensive Macintosh Backup System”