A symbolic link created at the command line allows a linked object in the file system to point to an original object in a different location. In this way, symbolic links behave much like an alias does in the Mac OS X GUI, except that the linking and reference between files or folders is done … Read More
Apple Watch is generally very stable and rarely needs to be rebooted or restarted, but sometimes it can become stuck, frozen, unresponsive, or a feature of Apple Watch may stop working as intended. Typically if those situations arise, you can get Apple Watch back to working order again by issuing a forced restart of the … Read More
Mac users who are searching for specific file type and file format matches on their computer can make the job dramatically easier by issuing proper search operators to the Find functions in Mac OS X. File type search operators can be used directly in Spotlight and also in the Finder based search function, and they … Read More
You almost certainly know that Siri can make phone calls from the iPhone with voice commands, but with new versions of iOS you have another great option; you can make calls that are automatically set to be on speaker mode. This Siri speakerphone call trick is particularly useful with “Hey Siri” voice activation, since you … Read More
If you’re not using Apple Music or listening to the subscription service, with no plans to pay for it after the free trial period, you can choose to hide Apple Music from iTunes on a Mac and from the Music app on an iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch. Hiding Apple Music is perhaps most useful … Read More
If you need to release and renew DHCP from the command line on a Mac, the helpful ipconfig utility is able to do so quickly. Do keep in mind that for most Mac OS X users, renewing a DHCP lease from the Mac System Preferences is the best approach because it’s user friendly and just … Read More
Apple Music offers a three month free trial to experience and explore the service, but at the end of that Music trial you will be automatically renewed into a $9.99 per month subscription service. For many users, they’ll appreciate leading into a subscription after their 90 day trial period is up, but for some other … Read More
At the command line, environmental variables are defined for the current shell and become inherited by any running command or process. They can determine anything from the default shell, the PATH, the users home directory, to the terminal emulation type, current working directory, where a history file is located, language and localization settings, and going … Read More
If you use Time Machine to backup a Mac to an external drive, you may decide to manually delete old backups that are no longer needed. Yes, Time Machine does it’s own housekeeping, but sometimes users need to manually intervene. This can be for a variety of reasons, whether for simple removal of old backups, … Read More
Given the complexity of some wi-fi network passwords combined with the general infrequency of entering them and that they’re typically saved on use, it’s not terribly unusual to forget what a specific routers wireless password is. Fortunately, if you’re on a Mac, there are a few ways to go about finding those lost or forgotten … Read More
The popular messaging app WhatsApp has a default media saving setting which will automatically download and save every received picture and video to the iPhone Photos apps Camera Roll. While some users may like this feature, others may wish to change the auto-saving media behavior so that images and movies sent and received in WhatsApp … Read More
The new Force Touch trackpads available for some Macs are really quite impressive. By using a haptic feedback mechanism and a tiny little speaker, the pressure-sensitive trackpad mimics a click with multiple layers of depth by pushing feedback into your finger – the trackpad itself does not move or click down like the prior generation … Read More
OS X El Capitan (10.11) is part of an open Public Beta, which means that any user can opt-in to install and run the beta version of the future OS X system software on their Mac. This is a chance for Mac users to help shape the future of OS X, and a great way … Read More
When the San Francisco type face first debuted it was made for the Apple Watch, but some enterprising Mac users modified the San Francisco font to run in OS X Yosemite anyway. Fast forward to now, and the San Francisco font has been revised by Apple to be a bit more readable for the Mac … Read More
Obviously nobody wants to be in an emergency situation, but if the need ever arises, Siri can come to your aid with a quick ability to dial the local emergency service line, and it works practically wherever you are in the world with the iPhone so long as it has a cellular connection. There’s not … Read More
Backing up a device to iCloud is highly recommended, but sometimes users get a new iPhone or iPad and they have old backups laying around in their iCloud account, which may not do much and just end up taking space. Assuming you have no use for the old backups anymore, you can easily delete them … Read More
Typically if you want to have an application launch approved by the GateKeeper feature on a Mac, you right-click on the unidentified developers application and choose “Open”, or go through System Preferences to bypass Gatekeeper that way. Another option is to manually add application approvals and exceptions to Gatekeeper by turning to the command line … Read More
Contact information can be some of the most useful data to export and share with others, and a comprehensive address book can be amongst some of the most important data a user gathers over time. The Mac makes exporting contact information from Mac OS X Contacts app very easy, so whether you want to share … Read More
