If your Mac feels excessively slow at random, or unreasonably slow for seemingly no apparent reason, you may want to check to see if the Messages app is open, as the Messages app for Mac has been known to use heavy amounts of processor and system resources. Next, you can investigate Activity Monitor for CPU utilization regarding the Messages app to confirm if this is the case.

Many Mac users have been reporting that Messages app on the Mac often uses inordinately high amounts of CPU, sometimes even maxing out the processor or otherwise consuming huge amounts of CPU, simply by the Messages app being open, whether or not you’re actively using the app. This has been an issue with many versions of MacOS system software, and it is not limited to MacOS Sonoma, macOS Ventura, Monterey, Mojave, High Sierra, etc, it can seemingly impact all Messages versions on the Mac, though the more recent versions with features like Stickers may have a greater propensity for slow performance and high CPU consumption.

We’re going to cover common reasons why Messages can slow down a Mac and lead to high CPU usage, as well as cover some solutions, and troubleshooting tips.

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Your iPhone can help to decipher those crazy laundry symbols on your clothes, but if you didn’t know that, you’re certainly not alone.

Anyone who has ever done laundry in their lifetime has undoubtedly looked at the back of a clothing tag and seen a variety of symbols, some of which may seem sort obvious, while other symbols look like some convergence of hieroglyphics and greek. But, your iPhone has a great built-in feature that will translate those laundry symbols, helping you to make sense of what you’re supposed to do with your clothing, towels, sheets, and whatever other laundry you’re doing.

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Amazon is offering some nice deals again today on Apple products. This time we’ve got a nice 10% discount on the latest iPad Pro 12.9″ model, $60 off AirPods Pro 2nd gen, and a whopping 42% off Beats Studio Pro headphones. Check out the deals below!

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You can use the built-in microphone on your iPhone as an external microphone on your Mac, thanks to the Continuity Camera feature of MacOS. Yes, the same feature that allows you to use iPhone as a FaceTime camera on a Mac also lets you just tap into the microphone if you’d like to. The iPhone has a good quality microphone and is obviously much more mobile than the internal microphone on a Mac, so this can offer a great solution for improving the audio quality of VOIP and audio calls, podcast recordings, and much more.

Read along and you’ll be using your iPhone as an external microphone for your Mac in no time.

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Apple has used their Halloween-eve “Scary Fast” event to release updates to the MacBook Pro and iMac lineup, both featuring the all-new M3 processor.

And, for the MacBook Pro, there’s an all new Space Black color option, but only for the M3 Pro and M3 Max versions of that computer.

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YouTube is the webs most popular video site by a long shot, practically serving as a television replacement for millions. But as any Youtube viewer knows, the ads can be very aggressive and there are times where you’ll have to watch a 30 second ad before you can watch one minute of content, which is not exactly a great experience. Other times you may be watching a video of music or a movie, or even a workout, and suddenly your watching experience is interrupted by interstitial ads and commercials, that can be distracting and annoying. Wouldn’t it be nice to watch YouTube without the ads?

Is an ad-free YouTube experience possible, for free? And the answer to that question is yes, thanks to FreeTube.

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Amazon is back with more great deals on Apple products and gear. From knocking up to $50 off AirPods Pro, to $80 off iPad 9th gen, to $250 off M2 MacBook Air 15″ models, $150 off Beats Studio Pro headphones, and more, if you’re in the market for some Apple hardware, enjoy these rare discounts from Amazon on coveted Apple products.

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Many Apple Watch users are curious if it’s possible to wear the Apple Watch on their ankle. Whether this is because they can’t wear the Apple Watch on their wrist, or because they’re wearing gloves or hand coverings, or participating in other activities where wearing a watch is not possible or allowed, wearing an Apple Watch on the leg or ankle is a commonly asked question, and a completely reasonable one to ask.

Let’s take a look at what is known about wearing Apple Watch on the ankle or leg.

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If you’re trying to use a Mac to update iOS on iPhone or iPadOS on iPad, you may see an error message that says something along the lines of “Updating to iOS 17.1 requires at least 975.2 MB of free space on your iPad. Please change your media sync options to make more storage available.” and be unable to update an iPhone or iPad to the latest version of iOS or iPadOS system software. This error is most likely to be seen when the iPhone or iPad is low on available storage space, but it can happen when a reasonable amount of storage is available as well.

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If you have installed macOS Sonoma onto your Mac, you may be curious about the new moving wallpapers and Aerial screen savers, and their location on your Mac and within the file system. The new screensavers are really quite beautiful, and as you unlock a Mac you will find they seamlessly transition to your wallpaper (this is optional, but it’s a cool trick when enabled). The end result is a moving wallpaper effect that looks beautiful, and keeps your wallpaper freshly updated, depending on whenever the screensaver was stopped.

If you’re wondering where the location of the Aerial screen saver and moving wallpapers reside in MacOS Sonoma, read along to better understand where these files are located, how you can download them, and how you can access them directly.

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Apple has released MacOS Ventura 13.6.1 and MacOS Monterey 12.7.1 for Mac users who have not yet updated to macOS Sonoma. The macOS software updates include security enhancements, and come alongside Safari 17.1 as well.

Separately, macOS Sonoma 14.1 has also been released, alongside iOS 17.1 update to iPhone, iPadOS 17.1 for iPad, iOS 16.7.2, iPadOS 16.7.2, iOS 15.8, iPadOS 15.8, tvOS 17.1, and watchOS 10.1.

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Apple has released a series of software updates for older model iPhone and iPad devices, that have either not yet updated to iOS 17 and iPadOS 17, or are not able to run those versions of system software. The updates include important security fixes, and are therefore recommended for all users to install, especially if you are not going to install iOS 17.1 or iPadOS 17.1 on the iPhone or iPad, respectively.

Specifically, iOS 16.7.2 and iPadOS 16.7.2 are available for iPhone 8 and later, all models of iPad Pro, iPad Air 3rd generation and later, iPad 5th generation and later, and iPad mini 5th generation and later.

Meanwhile, iOS 15.8 and iPadOS 15.8 are available for all models of iPhone 6s, all models of iPhone 7, iPhone SE 1st generation, iPad Air 2, iPad mini 4th generation, and iPod touch 7th generation.

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Apple has released iOS 17.1 for iPhone, and iPadOS 17.1 for iPad, as the first major point release updates to the iOS 17 and iPadOS 17 system software versions.

iOS 17.1 and iPadOS 17.1 include bug fixes, security enhancements, as well as some new features, like the ability to continue AirDrop transfers over the internet when someone steps out of AirDrop range. Additionally, a problem where custom ringtones and text tones were not showing up on iPhone has been fixed, and there are more customization options for StandBy mode. Full release notes are included further below in this post.

Additionally, Apple has also released macOS Sonoma 14.1 for Mac, updates to watchOS and tvOS, and updates for earlier iOS, ipadOS, and macOS versions as well.

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Apple has released MacOS Sonoma 14.1 for Mac users running the Sonoma operating system. The software update includes a handful of bug fixes and security enhancements, but no significant new features are included. Full release notes are included below.

Separately, Apple has also released iOS 17.1 for iPhone, iPadOS 17.1 for iPad, updates to watchOS, tvOS, HomePodOS, and updates for earlier versions of iOS, iPadOS, and finally, macOS Ventura 13.6.1 and macOS Monterey 12.7.1

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Maccy is a really good free clipboard manager for the Mac, the type of software that is so good that you’re grateful it is available for free, in the classic spirit of computing and open source software. It’s fast, unobtrusive, allows for text and images, with a great set of features, and a simple to use interface, what’s not to like?

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Apple has announced a special event for the evening of October 30, titled “Scary Fast”. The event is widely assumed to be focused on the Mac, due to the event webpage having an Apple logo that morphs into the Finder icon, perhaps with refreshed updates to the iMac and MacBook line.

Obviously the name “Scary Fast” and the dark Apple logo and Finder iconography are plays on the season, and October 31 being Halloween.

October 30 is a Monday, which is a bit unusual for an Apple event, but the more curious aspect of the “Scary Fast” event scheduling is that it’s being held at 5PM PDT, rather than the typical morning timeline.

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New Mac users who are transitioning to the Apple ecosystem from the world of Windows PC’s may experience a mix of curiosity, excitement, and even confusion, as they get to know their new operating system. Fortunately, the Mac is not only exceptionally powerful, it’s also very easy to use, and quite intuitive.

For new Mac users, here are some essential tips and things to know to make your transition into the world of MacOS as smooth and productive as possible.

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Amazon continues to offer excellent deals on select iPad models, this time offering the M1 iPad Air 5th generation at $100 discount. Combine the M1 iPad Air with an also discounted iPad Magic Keyboard, and a discounted Apple Pencil, and you’ve got yourself a full fledged iPad setup, for far less than the retail price from Apple. What’s not to like about that? And if the iPad Air M1 is too much for your needs, Amazon continues to offer a whopper discount on the 9th gen iPad as well. Let’s check out the deals.

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