Mac and iOS users can start iMessage conversations and send text messages from the web, email, or anywhere else a link can be clicked, by using a custom URL to launch the Messages app. Using this you can start an iMessage chat to any other iMessage user or send them an SMS through the Messages app (from an iPhone, or assuming SMS relay is setup on the Mac). This is a neat little trick that is quite similar to starting a FaceTime call from a URL or the web and it can be useful for staff directories, internal webpages, emails, HTML signatures, or even if you just want to offer a simple method of contact through a general webpage.

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If you need to view the IP addresses of other hardware on the same LAN (Local Area Network) as a Mac, the command line arp tool works quite well. You’ll quickly find other devices IP and accompanying MAC addresses, which can make direct network connections easier and be helpful for many other network and troubleshooting purposes.

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Want to record an iPhone call? Did you know there is a very easy way to record iPhone phone calls using nothing but your iPhone and a voicemail trick? I know you’re thinking what does recording an iPhone call have to do with voicemail, but it turns out that a simple trick allows you to use the service to record any phone call, and it works great. Not only will you get the recorded phone call, but you’ll be able to save and share the call recording as an audio file as well.

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Mac systems administrators may find a need to convert an existing regular user account into an administrator account on a Mac. While most Mac users would be best served by converting account status to admin through the Users & Groups preference panel, advanced users can perform the same function through the Terminal by using the Directory Service command line utility dscl.

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iOS 10.1.1 has been released by Apple for iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch. The small software update includes a bug fix for Health data not showing up for some users, but it’s possible the update includes other small changes as well.

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Apple has released iOS 10.2 beta 1 for iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch, and macOS Sierra 10.12.2 for Mac. The latest beta versions of system software focus on bug fixes and feature enhancements.

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Siri has the ability to read anything on the screen of an iPhone or iPad to you. And yes, that means Siri will quite literally read aloud whatever is open and on the display of an iOS device, whether it’s a web page, an article, an email, a text message, anything on the screen will be read out loud by Siri, and you’ll even have controls for speeding up and slowing down speech, as well as pausing and skipping sections.

To get the excellent Siri Speak Screen ability working on your iPad or iPhone, you will need to enable a little appreciated accessibility feature called speak screen, and then it’s just a matter of initiating the proper request with Siri.

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Most new iPhone and iPad models ship with the pre-installed iWork / iLife suite of apps, including Pages, Keynote, iMovie, Numbers, and Garageband. While this is a great collection of apps, many users who won’t be using them (or at least all of the apps) may rather have extra storage space available, which is nearly 3GB of storage in this case.

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YouTube videos default to auto-play on load, as well as automatically loading an playing a new different video in the playlist after the first video has completed. Some users may like YouTube video autoplaying, but some users may not.

If you want to turn off auto play on YouTube, or turn video auto play back on with YouTube, this is how you can do that on any desktop operating system and any web browser.

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Apple has a longstanding record of curating wonderful desktop pictures on both the Mac and iOS mobile platforms, so it’s not surprising that some users may wish to know where these default desktop wallpapers are stored in Mac OS.

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Apple has released an all new redesigned MacBook Pro. Available in 13″ and 15″ display sizes, the new MacBook Pro features upgraded hardware, faster processors, an all new keyboard, and a new multifunctional toolbar across the top of the keyboard called Touch Bar which includes Touch ID capabilities.

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Now that Messages in iOS supports stickers and apps, it can be easy to go overboard adding Stickers and Apps and end up with an overcrowded app and sticker panel. Not to worry, you can clean house and easily delete and remove any stickers and apps from the Messages app on iPhone and iPad.

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For Mac users who encrypt external hard drives and USB flash drives, there may come a time when you want to remove the password protection and decrypt the external device. Decrypting an external drive allows all data on the drive to be accessed without the password authentication, effectively turning off any protection on the target external volume.

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Apple has released macOS Sierra 10.12.1, the update includes a variety of bug fixes and feature enhancements for Mac users running the Sierra operating system.

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Apple has released iOS 10.1 for iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch. The latest version of iOS includes bug fixes and enhancements, but the most prominent feature is the inclusion of a Portrait camera mode ability for iPhone 7 Plus users.

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Some Mac users may encounter an error message stating “This Mac can’t connect to iCloud because of a problem with email@address.com”, which then directs the user to open the iCloud preferences. Once inside Mac iCloud preference panel, some users may be able to successfully login to iCloud, but often another error is encountered here which states “An unknown error occurred” when trying to login to iCloud on the Mac, or sometimes the iCloud preference panel freezes up and spins endlessly. Once these two error messages have been encountered, the Mac will typically be stuck in an infinite loop of iCloud login failures with an endless unknown error and the endless “problem” pop-up message, which prevents all iCloud functionality from working on the Mac including Messages, FaceTime, Notes, Mail, Contacts, Calendars, and all other iCloud related abilities.

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The latest versions of iOS allow users to read and reply to Messages directly from the lock screen, without having to authenticate with a passcode or Touch ID on the device. This allows for iPhone and iPad users to quickly reply to inbound messages, but it can also lead to some potential privacy issues that may not be desirable for everyone.

With a settings adjustment, you can disable the ability to reply to messages from the lock screen in iOS, thereby requiring a passcode or Touch ID first, much like replying to lock screen messages worked in prior versions of iOS system software.

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As you likely know by now, there are multiple ways to summon Siri on macOS; you can open Siri with a keyboard shortcut, you can access Siri from the menu bar icon, and you can open Siri from the Dock icon too. If you want to customize how you access Siri, you can change the keyboard shortcut to nearly anything of your choosing, allowing for a custom keystroke to open Siri on the Mac.

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