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 Right Click on a Mac
August 30, 2021
Think you can’t right click while using a Mac? Let’s dispel that common rumor right away: You can right click on a Mac! Don’t let the single trackpad and mouse button fool you. Both the MacBook trackpad and Apple mouse can be configured to right click. In this tutorial, you’ll learn how to right click on a Mac. What Right Clicking on a Mac Does If you have a Mac and you haven’t been right clicking, you’ve been missing out on a lot of cool functionality.
How to Check Which Version of macOS Your Mac is Using
August 29, 2021
All Macs come with the macOS operating system preinstalled, but depending on how you have your system settings configured, your Mac may have an older version of macOS installed. Fortunately, it’s quick and easy to check which version of macOS is installed on your Mac. Here’s how to check which version of macOS your Mac is using: From the Apple menu, select About This Mac, as shown below. The version of macOS installed on your computer is shown in the window, as shown below.
How to Backup Your iPad to iCloud
August 28, 2021
iCloud provides an easy way for you to back up your iPad to iCloud. Enable this feature, and your iPad will automatically create a copy of the information stored on your iPad and upload it to Apple’s cloud servers. If you ever lose your iPad or purchase a new iPad, you can use the iCloud backup to restore the backup to the new iPad. Warning: If you enable this feature, Apple can decrypt your backup and provide the contents to law enforcement.
How to Turn on Emergency SOS on Your iPhone
August 24, 2021
The Emergency SOS feature on your iPhone is designed to help you quickly contact emergency services and loved ones. You can initiate the call by pressing and holding the power button and one of the volume buttons. This feature is designed for emergency situations when you need to call emergency services but you don’t have the time to unlock your iPhone, open the Phone app, and dial a phone number.
How to Turn Off Emergency SOS on Your iPhone
August 21, 2021
The Emergency SOS feature on your iPhone is designed to help you quickly contact emergency services and loved ones. You can initiate the call by pressing and holding the power button and one of the volume buttons. But for some people, the Emergency SOS feature might be more of an inconvenience than anything. For example, if you have small children at home, you might discover that they can accidentally trigger Emergency SOS calls.
How to Add Page Numbers to an Apple Pages Document
August 19, 2021
If you use Apple Pages for Mac, you’re already familiar with Apple’s word processing application. But depending on who you’re creating the document for, you may have to add page numbers. Many organizations such as schools and legal entities have very strict guidelines regarding the numbering of pages. Here’s how to add page numbers to an Apple Pages document document on your Mac: Open Pages on your Mac, and then create a new document.
How to Enable Lossless Audio on Your iPad
August 17, 2021
Apple recently announced a feature that allows Apple Music subscribers to listen to lossless audio on their iPads. This is a free feature and improves the sound quality of the music you listen to. What is lossless audio? According to Apple: Most audio compression techniques lose some amount of data contained in the original source file. Lossless compression is a form of compression that preserves all of the original data.
How to Set Nano as the Default Editor for Git on Your Mac
August 15, 2021
If you’re a developer who uses git for version control on your Mac, you’ll want to set a default text editor for git. There are certain situations when git opens a text editor for you — for example, when you need to rebase or resolve merge conflicts. By default, git is set to use vim, but you can easily change git to use another text editor. Nano is a simple text editor and it makes a great choice for beginners or anyone who prefers a simpler text editor when working with git.
How to Use Your iPad as a Second Monitor
August 14, 2021
Using a second monitor with your Mac can really increase your productivity. Whether you use another monitor as a dedicated display for your web browser, text editor, or word processor, having a second monitor around can make a big difference. Thanks to Sidecar feature built in to macOS, you can use your iPad as a second monitor. You don’t even need to use any cables to connect them — it’s completely wireless!
How to Erase Your iPad
August 11, 2021
Are you considering selling your iPad or passing it down to a family member? You should erase your iPad before doing anything else. Erasing your iPad removes all of your apps, personal content, and settings and then resets your iPad to factory settings. Once you complete this process, the iPad can be set up from scratch, like a new iPad. Tip: Before you erase your iPad, be sure to back it up to iCloud or a Mac.