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.
How to Create an iTunes Playlist
February 7, 2013
If you’re like me, you have thousands of songs in iTunes. It’s nice to have all of that music available at the click of a button, but different times and situations call for different types of music. For example, you might listen to Metallica and AC/DC during your lunch break and Bach and Brahms in the evening before going to sleep. That’s where playlists come in. Playlists are customized collections of songs that can be played on your computer, transferred to iOS devices, or burned to CD (see How to Burn a Music CD in iTunes).
How to Wirelessly Sync Your iPhone
February 6, 2013
For years, the only way to sync the music, movies, photos, and other content on your Mac was to physically connect it to your iPhone with a USB cable. Of course, that’s still an option. But if you own an iPhone running iOS 5 or later and a Mac with iTunes 10.5 or later, there’s an even better way to sync content to your iPhone: wirelessly and automatically. This tutorial shows you how to cut the cord.
How to Check Your Magic Trackpad's Battery Life
January 19, 2013
Apple’s Magic Trackpad is a great alternative to the classic mouse. But as with all wireless devices, the trackpad’s batteries will die eventually and you’ll need to replace them. That’s why it’s a good idea to check your Magic Trackpad’s battery life before you leave home or deliver a presentation. Fortunately, there’s a quick way to check your trackpad’s remaining battery life. Here’s how to do it: From the Apple menu, select System Preferences.
How to Make an OS X Recovery USB Drive
January 17, 2013
It’s a good idea to have a bootable emergency drive on hand, just in case disaster strikes your Mac. An emergency drive (also referred to as an OS X Recovery Disk) can help you repair the hard disk, reinstall the operating system, and restore from a Time Machine backup to get your computer back fast. With previous versions of OS X, you could have used the installation DVD to fix problems.
Enabling Firmware Password Protection on Your Mac
January 16, 2013
Firmware password protection can help safeguard your Mac and the data stored on it. With this feature enabled, users are prevented from booting from another startup disk or entering single-user mode — a command-line interface that can be accessed at startup. Firmware password protection is especially effective in enterprise or educational environments where administrators can secure the physical hardware but cannot be present to prevent tampering by employees or students. For example, unauthorized users can’t start the computer from a USB emergency drive when firmware password protection is enabled.
How to Password Protect Your AirPort's Wireless Network
January 14, 2013
If you own an AirPort Extreme, AirPort Express, or Time Capsule, you should consider protecting your wireless network with a password to prevent other individuals from accessing it. Enabling password protection is easy and can provide peace of mind. You probably don’t want others stealing your bandwidth or, in a worst-case scenario, using your network to do something illegal. Here’s how to password protect your AirPort’s wireless network: Open the AirPort Utility application.
How to Disable Inline Attachments in Mail.app
January 9, 2013
By default, the Mail application on your Mac displays image attachments inline with the text in the email message. This can be convenient when sending or receiving the occasional message with images that need explanations, as shown below. However, people who frequently send or receive email messages with lots of images may prefer to disable inline image attachments and instead have the images represented by icons only. Unfortunately, the Mail application does not provide a method of disabling inline image attachments in the preferences, so you’ll have to use the Terminal application to change this setting.
How to Find Your iPhone's Phone Number
January 7, 2013
When you activate a new iPhone, your carrier provides you with documentation that contains the iPhone’s phone number. But if you haven’t yet committed the phone number to memory, or if you live in the United States and use a different phone number with Google Voice, you may need a quick way to find your iPhone’s number. Fortunately, there is a quick and easy way to do it as long as your iPhone is already activated with a standard SIM card.
How to Share an iPhone Contact with a Friend
January 4, 2013
The iOS Contacts application makes it easy to store contact information for friends and family members on your iPhone. But did you know that by tapping a button on your iPhone, you can share a contact’s information with a friend? This is a great way to share the phone numbers and email addresses of extended family members, friends of friends, and even contractors. Here’s how to share an iPhone contact with a friend:
Schedule Your Mac to Automatically Sleep
January 3, 2013
If you’re one of those people who forgets to turn off your Mac at night, you might be interested in a little-known OS X feature capable of automatically putting your Mac to sleep at a time of your choosing. It’s a great “set it and forget it” setting that automates a task that can save you energy and prolong the life of your Mac’s components. Here’s how to schedule your Mac to automatically sleep: