Articles by Matt Cone
Matt Cone is a technical writer at Fastly. He has experience creating documentation for organizations like Linode and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Matt’s first book, Master Your Mac, was published by No Starch Press. To get in touch with Matt, visit https://www.mattcone.com.
Synchronize your Mac's Clock with a Time Server
January 14, 2021
By default, your Mac synchronizes its clock with a network time server to keep accurate time. Network time servers are the authoritative timekeepers of the internet, ensuring that everyone has the right time. Apple’s time server (time.apple.com) is the default time server for your Mac, but you can switch to another time server, such as one maintained by your employer or university. Here’s how to synchronize your Mac’s clock with a time server and optionally change the time server:
How to Backup Your iPhone to iCloud
January 13, 2021
iCloud provides an easy way for you to back up your iPhone to iCloud. Enable this feature, and your iPhone will automatically create a copy of the information stored on your iPhone and upload it to Apple’s cloud servers. If you ever lose your iPhone or purchase a new iPhone, you can use the iCloud backup to restore the backup to the new iPhone. Warning: If you enable this feature, Apple can decrypt your backup and provide the contents to law enforcement.
How to Check Your Magic Mouse's Battery Life
January 13, 2021
Apple’s Magic Mouse is probably the best wireless Bluetooth mouse available. But as with all wireless devices, the batteries will need to be recharged or replaced eventually. That’s why it’s a good idea to check your Magic Mouse’s battery life before you leave home or deliver a presentation. Fortunately, there’s a quick way to check your mouse’s remaining battery life. Here’s how to do it: From the Apple menu, select System Preferences.
How to Backspace on a Mac
January 12, 2021
Your Mac doesn’t have a dedicated backspace key, but it’s still possible to backspace on a Mac using a keyboard shortcut. Backspacing allows you to “forward delete” by deleting characters behind the cursor (instead of in front of it, as when you use the delete button). To backspace on a Mac, press the fn and Delete keys, as shown below. This keyboard shortcut for backspace works in every Mac application. You can use it to backspace in applications like Safari, Microsoft Word, Pages, and many more.
How to Turn Off Notifications on a Mac
January 11, 2021
Your Mac displays a variety of notifications in the top-right corner of the screen to keep you updated on what’s happening, but sometimes you need to turn off notifications on your Mac temporarily or permanently. Disabling notifications can be useful when you need to focus on a particular task or when you don’t want to be distracted while on something like a video conference call. This tutorial will show you how to turn off notifications on your Mac.
How to Copy and Paste on Mac
January 10, 2021
For new Mac users, learning how to copy and paste text, images, and files on a Mac is one of the first orders of business. It’s easy to copy and paste on a Mac using keyboard shortcuts or menu items. This tutorial will show you how to do it! How to Copy and Paste on a Mac Using Keyboard Shortcuts You can copy and paste on a Mac using two keyboard shortcuts.
How to Hide the Dock on Your Mac
January 10, 2021
The Dock is the tray that holds the icons of your favorite apps and the apps that are open on your Mac. It’s a handy way to switch between applications, but it also takes up a lot of screen real estate, especially if you use a MacBook. Fortunately, there’s an easy way to hide the Dock on your Mac so that it only appears when you mouse over it. Here’s how to hide the Dock on your Mac.
How to Check Your AirPods Battery Life
January 9, 2021
Apple reports that the AirPods Pro headphones can provide 4.5 hours of playback on a single charge. By recharging the headphones with the charging case, you can eek out 24 hours of playback. But how do you check the battery life of the AirPods Pro headphones? There’s a light on the charging case, but it doesn’t provide any indication of how much time you can continue listening to the headphones. Fortunately, there’s a quick and easy way to check the AirPods battery life using an iPhone or a Mac.
How to Enable the Root User on a Mac
January 9, 2021
The most advanced tasks demand the most powerful user account of them all: the root user. When you log in as root, you have read and write privileges to every file on your Mac. This awesome power lets you override any account or permission restriction, but be careful! You could really mess things up if you don’t know what you’re doing. Warning: The root account is disabled by default. To prevent accidents, you should only enable and utilize the root account when you absolutely need it.
How to Make a Bash Script Executable on a Mac
January 9, 2021
Bash scripts are files containing code that tell your computer to do something. They’re a staple of the Linux world, and there are thousands of them freely available on the internet. With a bit of tweaking, you can use these scripts on your Mac, too. In this tutorial, you’ll learn how to make a bash script executable on a Mac. Here’s how to make a bash script executable on a Mac: