Tutorials
How to Change Your iPhone's DNS Servers
Matt Cone January 14, 2021
Just like in macOS, you can change the DNS servers on your iPhone. This can significantly speed up Safari and other iPhone apps that use the Internet. For a general introduction to DNS, and to learn why you would want to change the DNS servers on your iPhone, see How to Change Your Mac’s DNS Servers. Before we start, you should know a couple things about how iOS handles DNS. First, these instructions only work for Wi-Fi connections - iOS does not allow you to change the DNS servers when connected to cellular networks.
How to Check Your Magic Mouse's Battery Life
Matt Cone 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 Backup Your iPhone to iCloud
Matt Cone 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 Backspace on a Mac
Matt Cone 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
Matt Cone 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 Hide the Dock on Your Mac
Matt Cone 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 Copy and Paste on Mac
Matt Cone 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 Make a Bash Script Executable on a Mac
Matt Cone 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:
How to Enable the Root User on a Mac
Matt Cone 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 Check Your AirPods Battery Life
Matt Cone 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.