Tips & Tricks

Many Mac applications and downloads arrive as a PKG package file, but have you ever wanted to open a PKG file to view exactly what is being installed and where it’s going from the source .pkg? Assuming you get a .pkg installer from a trusted source like Apple there is generally nothing to be concerned … Read More

Some Mac users may require the ability to erase a disk or erase a hard drive from the command line on Mac OS, a task which is typically performed through the Disk Utility application from the GUI. The command line approach to disk erasure in macOS is a bit different and it requires precise syntax … Read More

There may come a time when you need to save or convert a Microsoft Word Doc or DOCX file to PDF format from a Mac. The advantages to saving a Word DOC as PDF are notable in that the PDF file becomes universally readable by any operating system with a PDF reader, even without the … Read More

Command line users are undoubtedly familiar with man pages, or manual pages, that contain details, help, and documentation to specified commands and functions. Referencing a man page can be essential when trying to learn proper syntax or how a command works, but with how large some manual pages are it can be a real drag … Read More

Photos app for Mac can not only manage your photos, but also any of videos that have been copied into Photos app from an iPhone or camera as well. If you have a movie file in Photos on the Mac that you like but it’s just a bit too long, or perhaps the action scene … Read More

If you’ve ever encountered a lengthy document or webpage that you want the gist of, but don’t have the time to read or scan through, you can use the excellent Summarize Service in Mac OS X to summarize the text for you. Summarize is adjustable as well, meaning you can choose how dense or light … Read More

Safari Tabs let you maintain many different webpages and web sites on the iPhone, switching through them as necessary to review different sites and content. For those of us who open a ton of tabs in iOS Safari, it’s easy to be overwhelmed by huge numbers of tabs as you browse more sites and pages … Read More

As many users know, using Two-Factor authentication for an Apple ID provides an additional layer of security for your Apple and iCloud login by requiring a pin code to be entered from an approved device before the Apple ID can be accessed. But the two factor auth feature is really built for modern iOS versions, … Read More

The Mail app for Mac will automatically check email accounts for new mail, and with a little customization you can even adjust how often it refreshes and checks for new emails as well. Those settings work fine for many users, but another option is to manually refresh and force a check for new email by … Read More

If you have ever recorded a video or movie and found that some of the surrounding frame is unnecessary or irrelevant, you can use an editing function to crop down the video to focus on what should be the focus of the movie. This tutorial will show you how to quickly crop a video on … Read More

Cleaning the keyboard on a MacBook, MacBook Pro, or MacBook Air is a necessary chore from time to time, but it can also be more challenging than expected as anyone who has done so can attest. The moment you start wiping down the Mac keyboard, it’s inevitable for keys to be pressed, and as a … Read More

Mac users can run AppleScript from the command line if desired, either by running a script file directly or by giving the osascript command direct plain text script statements. This can be useful for many purposes, but should be particularly nice for users who spend a lot of time in the command line or who … Read More

The MacBook Air is not really thought of as being expandable or upgradeable, but it turns out that with a little effort and patience, you can replace the SSD on the MacBook Air yourself. Changing the SSD on a MacBook Air can allow you to dramatically increase the storage size of the Mac and can … Read More

The iPhone Stocks app and Stocks Notification Center widget typically is used to follow markets, ETFs, mutual funds, or individual equities, but with the proper syntax you can add just about any globally traded currency to watch as well. Adding currency to the Stocks app should be particularly nice for users who travel often, or … Read More

One of the most subtle animations found in Mac OS X and macOS is known as the “focus ring animation”, which is a sort of zooming highlight around where ever the cursor focus goes in a text book. Many users likely haven’t even noticed it, it’s that subtle. If you have no idea what the … Read More

Some users may benefit from enabling Two-Factor Authentication with Apple ID to further protect and secure their devices and data, but sometimes people decide two-factor auth is too much of a hassle and want to disable the feature.

Having a broken iPhone charger cable is exceptionally annoying, not only because they become extremely delicate and often wind up failing completely, but also because it’s only a matter of time before you’ll need to replace the thing and toss out the broken cord. Aside from that, they can also throw various errors, and if … Read More

All modern Macs running macOS or Mac OS X come with SSH pre-installed by default, but the SSH (Secure Shell) daemon is also disabled by default. Advanced Mac users may appreciate knowing the ability to enable SSH and disable SSH are both available entirely from the command line of Mac OS, allowing for a simple … Read More