Macs can sync Mail, Calendars, and even Notes with Android phones and tablets with virtually the same seamless nature as Macs sync through iCloud with other Apple devices like the iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch. The only requirement to sync a Mac with an Android device is that you have a Gmail (Google) account, which … Read More

The relatively simple Apple setup of Adranb is a bit of a contrast from some of the more decked out Mac setups we’ve shown lately, but that doesn’t make it any less functional, plus he’s got a great collection of Apple stuff that goes along with it.

Saving a complete listing of files contained with a folder is easy, and there are two quick ways to save that list as a text file. Save a List of Files from Finder The first approach may be easiest for most users and is done through the OS X Finder and TextEdit app, it’s a … Read More

Mac OS X includes a great feature called Screen Sharing which allows for the remote control of a Macs display. This means you can easily access a home or work Mac while on the go, or even do something like remotely troubleshoot a parents computer. Screen Sharing will work across just about any supported Mac … Read More

This weeks Mac setup comes to us from Ryan W., a chemistry student in the UK who has a nice desk full of Apple gear. Hardware shown includes: MacBook Air (2012) – Core i5 1.7GHz, 4GB RAM, 64GB SSD Mac Mini (2011) – Core i5 2.3GHz, 8GB RAM, 500GB HDD LG IPS22V 22″ 1080p Display … Read More

Bored? Launch Terminal and get ready for some completely stupid tricks to keep yourself entertained. You’ll be listening to Horse Ebooks blab away, watching Star Wars in ASCII, playing retro games, toasting your CPU cores with a repetitive phrase, and even talking to a virtual psychotherapist. The hidden joys of the command line are upon … Read More

We’ve all accidentally saved over a crucial file and lost something important, and that’s exactly what the Versions feature of Mac OS X aims to prevent by providing a history of a documents life. Modern versions of OS X with the Versions feature have improved dramatically, and it’s now easier to use and more logical … Read More

If you suspect someone is using your Mac while you’re away and getting into personal documents and files, the easiest way to quickly find out is by looking at the Recent Items list in OS X.

If you want to completely peg CPU to stress test a Mac, turn no further than the Terminal. Using the command line you can easily max out all CPU cores and induce huge load on a Mac, making it easy to determine things like what temperature the processor reaches under heavy load, if fans are … Read More

Macs have long dominated the realm of creatives, and musicians are no exception. This weeks great Mac setup comes to us from Vassilis T., a DJ in Thessaloniki, Greece. As you’d expect, the workstation is used to produce music, and the hardware shown includes: iMac 27″ (mid-2011) with 8GB RAM Pair of Stanton T62 turntables … Read More

Ignoring specific software updates is a bit different now in modern versions of OS X now that updates are handled by the Mac App Store. From OS X El Capitan, Yosemite, Mavericks, Mountain Lion and onward, if you don’t want to install an update you will need to hide it from being visible within the … Read More

Time Machine backups can be encrypted right from your Mac. This means the backed up data is extremely safe from prying eyes and the very unlikely event of a cracking attempt, and it also means you’ll need a password to access the encrypted backups yourself. Enabling encrypted backups in Time Machine for Mac OS X … Read More

Alex L. manages a startup in Brazil that builds web apps with Ruby on Rails, and, no surprise, he uses a bunch of great Apple gear to get the job done. Being a startup also means juggling a lot of hats, so beyond development the workstation gets used for design and film production. Hardware shown … Read More

Notification Center in Mac OS X is great but it can act up every once in a while and either stop updating completely, alerts may not comet through, widgets may not load, or the entire thing can freeze up and become inaccessible. If you encounter any such issue with Notifications in OS X, or modifications … Read More

It’s now easier than ever to quickly encrypt external disks and hard drives from Mac OS X, whether they are USB drives, Firewire, flash drives, or even SD cards. While you can still use the traditional route to encrypt disks through Disk Utility, from modern versions of MacOS and Mac OS X the process is … Read More

This weeks featured setup is a really great two-for-one arrangement from Tim N., an investigator who was able to replace a bunch of different gadgets and hardware with some killer Apple gear both in the office and on the road. First up is his office setup, which includes some great Mac gear: iMac 27″ (2011) … Read More

Using the command line softwareupdate tool you can update Mac OS X system software without using the App Store. This is particularly useful for Mac users running later versions of Mac OS X where the software update system is primarily handled through the Mac App Store, but can occasionally either go awry or be inaccessible … Read More

OS X Mavericks comes with PHP 5.4.30, and OS X Mountain Lion ships with PHP 5.3.13 preinstalled, though if you start the built-in Apache server, you will find PHP isn’t enabled by default. Changing this is easy, and if you’re a web developer and want PHP running on your local Mac with OS X 10.8 … Read More