All domains are associated with an IP address, whether it’s for a website, mail server, or whatever else. While using nslookup offers a simple way to get DNS information and an IP for a specific website or domain, if you want a significantly more detailed retrieval, you can use the host command instead. The host command performs an extensive DNS lookup for whatever domain it’s pointed at, which makes it much more useful than nslookup or dig for many situations. This can be helpful for many situations, whether to troubleshoot and discover DNS propagation issues or simply to get an actual IP address, CNAME, IPv6 address, or otherwise.

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Hidden wi-fi networks are becoming more common as network administrators look for additional measures to secure wireless connections. Hiding the network functions as a means of security by obscurity, but the main user-side issue with a hidden Wi-FI network is that the routers SSID is not broadcast which can make it difficult to find for users on an iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, or Apple Watch. Fortunately, joining a hidden wi-fi network from iOS is really easy, you just have to know how to do it.

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Many Mac users have a gaming console or two as well, and if it happens to be a Playstation 4, then you’ll find that using that PS4 controller with Mac OS is incredibly simple. This basically means your DualShock Playstation 4 controller will work as a native game controller for any supported game running on a Mac, ranging from native Mac OS X games to emulators. It works very well, and since many of us prefer to play games with a controller it’s a great way to extend the value of a pricey PS4 purchase.

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Apple has released a group of important security updates for the Mac Safari web browser, versioned as Safari 8.0.4 for OS X Yosemite, Safari 7.1.4 for OS X Mavericks, and Safari 6.2.4 for OS X Mountain Lion.

The notes accompanying the download are brief, simply recommending the security update for all Mac users as it offers “improvements to stability and security.”

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If you find yourself frequently connecting to a network share or remote server from your Mac, you should do yourself a favorite and add it to the Favorites list in the Connect to Server screen of Mac OS X. Though the feature is right in front of our faces, very few Mac users seem to use this handy ability, though it will undoubtedly make your networked life easier.

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Apple is said to be working on a subscription-based streaming television service, according to two new reports from The Wall Street Journal and the New York Times.

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Many users have a love or hate relationship with iTunes, which is required to sync an iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch to a Mac or PC (presumably an Apple Watch too). When iTunes syncing works as intended, that’s fantastic, but sometimes things don’t work out that way. iTunes 12 in particular appears to have some annoying issues with syncing that causes a sync and media transfer to get stuck on a step and never complete, sometimes just filling up your device with music and song names that can’t actually play. Another frustrating syncing issue is an outright refusal to sync, where iTunes just becomes unresponsive when you try to sync data between your iPhone/iPad and the computer.

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Apple has released the fourth beta of OS X 10.10.3 Yosemite for testing. The new beta build arrives as 14D105g and includes updates to the OS X 10.10.3 system software and seems to continue focus on the new Photos app for Mac. Additionally, the new beta build apparently fixes a bug that impacts newly released Mac hardware.

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The shift and caps lock key in iOS can be toggled at will to either capitalize a word or to type out something in ALL CAPS, but using the new Quick Type keyboard, you can switch casing of existing words very easily. This works really well on the iPhone and iPad, and once you learn how to use this, it’ll probably become your preferred way to capitalize a word that has already been typed out, or to switch the casing to all upper or lower case.

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It’s time for another featured Mac setup! This time around we’re sharing the dual-screen desk workstation of developer Carlos P., let’s dive right in to learn more about the hardware and what iOS and OS X apps are put to use:

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Want to quickly make an iTunes Gift Card purchase? Just ask Siri. Yes, really. Siri, our very own personal assistant that lives on modern iPhones and iPads, can assist in the purchase of gift cards from the iTunes Store and App Stores, and even the Apple Store itself, at least kind of (more on that latter situation in a moment).

To start the gift card buying process, just do the following on any iPhone or iPad:
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Looking for a quick laugh at the expense of the brand new 12″ MacBook or Apple Watch? Well we weren’t either, but a collection of rather humorous videos and images has turned up in our inbox so we figured we would share them with our readers.

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Apple has launched a new iOS Beta Testing Program for iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch users. Much like the beta test program for OS X Yosemite, this allows users who opt to participate in the software testing program to receive beta versions of iOS system software before they are released to the wider public.

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Apple has released a new developer version of OS X 10.10.3 for Mac. The new beta build of 14D98g includes Photos app, as well as support for Force Touch API, which is the redesigned touch-sensitive trackpad included in the new 12″ MacBook and MacBook Pro 13″ Retina. The new diverse Emoji characters and some other features from iOS 8.3 beta 3 are also included in the release.

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A third beta version of iOS 8.3 has been released to developers. The new beta build is 12F5047f and includes bug fixes and feature enhancements for compatible iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch devices.

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The Green Button in OS X window bars used to maximize windows to fit the Mac screen, but since OS X Yosemite the Green Button now sends windows or apps into full screen mode by default. This can be modified one-off by Option+Clicking the maximize button, but a better solution for some users is to permanently modify the behavior of the green maximize button to work like it used to instead.

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Apple will introduce Force Touch technology on the next models of iPhone, according to a new report from the Wall Street Journal.

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Now that we know Apple Watch will take pre-orders at the beginning of next month for a later release date in April, interested users may want to have a better idea of just how big or small given Apple Watch models are. Rounding the numbers, 42MM is 1.65 inches, and 38MM is 1.5 inches. For most of us, hearing 38mm or 42mm means just about nothing, but the Apple Store app has a really handy feature that displays the actual size of each Apple Watch model, giving you an excellent idea of the exact physical size of the device.

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