Mac OS

Advanced Mac users may find it necessary to view or directly manipulate firmware variables found within NVRAM on the computer. Typically the NVRAM contains specific system data about things like the system audio level, startup disk details, an active user name, screen backlighting and resolution, and other technical details. While most users have no business … Read More

Bluetooth allows wireless devices like keyboards, mouse, speakers, trackpads to be used with the Mac, and while they usually work just fine, sometimes specific Bluetooth difficulties can arise and be very frustrating to troubleshoot. Maybe it’s a persistently disconnecting device, maybe it’s a device that refuses to acknowledge a specific Mac or vice versa. Sometimes … Read More

The Mac Photos app uses various motion animations in the interface that are similar to those which appear in the iOS world, with plenty of zooming, panning, and other eye candy for doing simple tasks like opening a picture. Those eye candy effects may look nice to some users (and nauseating to others who are … Read More

The Mail swipe left gesture in OS X can be set to archive or delete messages, but some users would rather just turn the feature off completely. At the moment, the Mac Mail client does not have an option to turn off the Mail swipe left gesture, but thanks to a workaround you can effectively … Read More

While most Mac laptop users will rely on the battery percentage indicator found in the menu bar of OS X, those who spend a lot of time at the command line may find it useful to know that MacBook battery life and battery charge percentage remaining information can be retrieved directly from the Terminal in … Read More

Apple has released OS X El Capitan 10.11.2 to the public, the latest version of OS X resolves various bugs and offers improvements to address wi-fi issues, HandOff, AirDrop, Bluetooth, Mail app, iCloud Photo Sharing, and photo importing over USB.

Notification Center in Mac OS X delivers alerts and messages from Mac system functions, software updates, and various applications. While these notifications and messages can sometimes be helpful or informative, they can also be disruptive and incredibly annoying if you’re trying to focus or get things done on the Mac. Additionally, some users may not … Read More

Having appropriate DNS settings is essential for a Mac to be able to successfully access internet domains, whether it be a website like https://osxdaily.com or a remote server. DNS, which stands for Domain Name Server, essentially translates numerical IP addresses to the readable domains that most internet users are familiar with, and thus without properly … Read More

The Mac Mail app has added inbox swiping gestures to OS X that allow you to quickly delete or archive an email message with a simple left swipe. While this helps to sort through tons of emails rather quickly, it can also lead to some unintentional removal of emails that you may want to keep, … Read More

Microsoft Edge is the latest web browser from Microsoft, which aims to replace Internet Explorer in the latest versions of Windows for desktop PC, Surface, and Windows Phone. While most Mac users may not need to access or use the Microsoft Edge web browser, others in Mac OS X may require using Edge to access … Read More

Using AirDrop is one of the easier ways to share files between Macs since its debut some time ago in OS X, but many Mac users have discovered that new Macs can’t seem to find old Macs with AirDrop, and older Macs with older versions of OS X can’t seem to locate new Macs with … Read More

Apple has released the fifth beta version of OS X El Capitan 10.11.2 to Mac users in the beta testing programs. The new beta arrives as build 15C48a and continues to focus on improving reliability and compatibility of OS X El Capitan, with a particular emphasis on networking, wi-fi, Mail, Calendar, Graphics, Notes, USB, Photos … Read More

New versions of Mac OS allow Mac users to hide and show the menu bar at the top of the screen automatically, much like the Dock can be hidden and shown with a mouse over. Auto-hiding the menu bar is a nice feature for Mac users who are fans of minimalist desktop appearances, as it … Read More

Enabling Dark menu and Dock mode on the Mac is a subtle user interface change to make which allows both the menu bar and the Mac OS X Dock to appear as black backgrounds with white text or icons overlaid on top. The result is a higher contrast menu bar and Dock, which is also … Read More

Users who have enabled the firewall in Mac OS X may find it useful to be view, read, and monitor the associated logs with the system firewall. As you’d expect, the app firewall logs show you what applications and processes have attempted to connect to the Mac, including accepted and refused connections. There are several … Read More

The latest versions of Mac OS X include a new ability to immediately delete a file or folder from the Mac, bypassing the Trash can. Essentially how the “Delete Immediately” feature works is by circumventing the Trash and rather than waiting for user action to remove the files, it just deletes the file(s) instantaneously from … Read More

Apple removed the ability to burn disc images from Disk Utility from MacOS High Sierra, Sierra, OS X 10.11 El Capitan, and newer, and while that makes sense for many Macs that no longer have SuperDrives, CDRW, and DVD burners, for those who use an external burner, use disc drive sharing, or who do have … Read More

You can add a nice vignette effect to any picture, image, or photo kept in the Photos app on the Mac. The vignette tool allows for adjustments and customizations for the strength of the pictures vignetting effect, which is basically a dark soft border along the edges of a picture intended to draw the viewers … Read More