The Messages app is the native instant messaging client for OS X which supports everything from iMessage, Facebook chat, to AIM. Though users have long been able to block senders from AIM and Facebook, the iMessage protocol was notably void of a block feature on the Mac until the OS X 10.9.2 update. Now changed, … Read More
Some iPhone and iPad users, myself included, have experienced an unusual level of battery drain after updating devices to iOS 7.0.6. This is typically accompanied by an iPhone (or other device) feeling abnormally warm to the touch.
Many advanced Mac users have noticed that Activity Monitor appears slower these days when the app is updating CPU, Memory, Disk, Energy, and Network data, with the monitoring app apparently no longer offering real-time system resource statistics. Instead, Activity Monitor now defaults to offering a general aggregate of system use that feels relatively delayed. Well … Read More
The popular Evasi0n utility has been updated to support jailbreaking iOS 7.0.6. Though iOS 7.0.6 is a minor version change to iOS, it includes an important security fix that prevents potential man-in-the-middle attacks and/or data interception from occurring, thus it is highly recommended for all users to install as soon as possible, including those who … Read More
The Mac includes a fantastic command line tool called textutil which allows for quick text file format conversions, translating almost any text or word document type into another. We’ve discussed textutil for a variety of uses, but typically it has been for one-off conversions of a specific file into a new file type. This time … Read More
How many times have you been reading an article on the web when you tapped on a link that sent you somewhere you weren’t expecting? Maybe it was to an article that wasn’t anticipated, or maybe it was to another website entirely. Sometimes we just want to know where we’ll be going before going there, … Read More
If you follow the general tech world through just about any medium, be it Twitter, Pinterest, or blogs, you may have seen a pretty bold battery charging claim gaining popularity lately, usually something along the lines of: “charge your iPhone twice as fast just by switching it into AirPlane Mode!” The theory behind that claim … Read More
Batteries on the MacBook Pro and MacBook Air are made to offer many hours of work on a single charge. Unfortunately, sometimes apps get in the way of our wonderful Mac battery life, often without a user even noticing until suddenly their battery life has been drained dramatically. The good news is it doesn’t have … Read More
It’s fairly common for computer users to delay updating to major operating system releases, and though Mac owners tend to be a bit better at upgrading than Windows users, many are still running old versions of OS X. For some users there are good reasons for this, maybe lingering on outdated OS X versions like … Read More
Some Mac users may encounter an apparently random disappearance of Bluetooth functionality, often after rebooting or updating OS X. The first obvious indicator is that no Bluetooth hardware works, be it a keyboard, mouse, headset, or otherwise, and when attempting to visit the Bluetooth menu of OS X a “Bluetooth: Not Available” error is displayed … Read More
Every modern iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch has access to a feature called Automatic Downloads, which can be used a bit differently than intended as a means to remotely install apps onto iOS devices from a computer. All you need is iTunes on OS X or Windows logged into the same Apple ID as what’s … Read More
Ever wanted to create an iPhone or Android ringtone from an existing audio file, but wanted to complete the process entirely from the command line? You’re in luck, because OS X has a little audio conversion tool that can turn any existing audio track into an Android or iPhone compatible ringtone in seconds. We’ll break … Read More
