by Terry McAdams | Jun 18, 2020 | Apple Watch, Mac, passwords, Security, Tip
Tired of typing your admin account password whenever you try to install software or change security settings on your Mac? A new feature in macOS 10.15 Catalina removes that requirement for Apple Watch owners. In System Preferences > Security & Privacy >...
by Terry McAdams | Jun 17, 2020 | How-To, iOS, iPad, iPhone
Let’s get one thing straight. You know that you should never, ever share your iPhone or iPad passcode with anyone you don’t trust implicitly, like a spouse or adult child, right? That’s because, with your iOS passcode, someone could change your Apple ID password, and...
by Terry McAdams | Jun 16, 2020 | Backup, How-To, Mac, Time Machine
Need help with something? On occasion, we all need tech support. Speaking as the people who are sometimes on the other end of those requests for help, we have some suggestions on how to get the support you need as quickly as possible. For instance, think about what we...
by Terry McAdams | Jun 15, 2020 | Email
Email has been around for decades, but there are no hard-and-fast rules for how you should close a message with either the signoff or the signature block. If you’ve always wondered about the best ways to finish off a message or are uncomfortable with what you’ve been...
by Terry McAdams | Jun 12, 2020 | Backup, Finder, How-To, iPad, iPhone, iTunes, Mac
One of the most significant changes in macOS 10.15 Catalina was the breakup of the long-standing iTunes app into separate Music, Podcasts, and TV apps. But what about backing up iOS devices, which you also used to do in iTunes? In Catalina, Apple moved this function...
by Terry McAdams | Jun 11, 2020 | iPhone, Security
Spearfishing. It’s no longer just a tropical ocean sport that might provide seafood for dinner. In today’s tech world, spearfishing is when someone targets you specifically, usually with the goal of taking over your online accounts. Once that’s done, the attacker will...
by Terry McAdams | Jun 10, 2020 | iPhone, privacy
Late last year, The New York Times published a bombshell article revealing just how completely our every movement is tracked by companies in the business of selling our locations to advertisers, marketers, and others. Anonymous sources provided the Times with a...
by Terry McAdams | Jun 9, 2020 | iPhone, privacy
Apple recently released iOS 13.5, incorporating a new Exposure Notification API in response to the global COVID-19 pandemic. While some people may have concerns about that, we’re here to allay those fears. At best, the Exposure Notification API could lower...
by Terry McAdams | Jun 4, 2020 | Battery, Mac, troubleshooting
We all want Mac laptops that can run for days on a single charge and never need their batteries serviced. Sadly, we’re always going to be disappointed. Battery and power management technologies continually improve, but those improvements are matched by more powerful...
by Terry McAdams | Jun 3, 2020 | iPhone, Tip, troubleshooting
Have you ever seen the dreaded “No Service” label at the top of your iPhone’s screen, even when you’re pretty sure there should be cellular reception? It’s not common, but the iPhone’s cellular radio can occasionally get confused. Luckily, you can easily fix the...
by Terry McAdams | Jun 2, 2020 | Mac, menu bar, productivity, Tip
If your Mac is anything like ours, it’s suffering from an infestation of menu bar icons. Sure, the Wi-Fi menu is essential, and many others can be helpful. But if you have too many, or they’re in random order, finding one when you need it can be frustrating. You can...
by Terry McAdams | May 28, 2020 | iPad, iPhone, productivity, Tip, Wi-Fi
Historically, picking a new Wi-Fi network has required you to open the Settings app and tap Wi-Fi, forcing you to unlock your iPhone or switch away from what you were doing. In iOS 13, however, Apple added a better way to connect to a new Wi-Fi network. Open Control...
by Terry McAdams | May 22, 2020 | Mac
It’s taken as gospel that Macs are more expensive than PCs. A quick look at the Dell Web site reveals laptops for as low as $300. Sure, we can say that the configurations aren’t comparable, that macOS is better than Windows, or that Apple’s hardware quality is...
by Terry McAdams | May 21, 2020 | Tip
Apple’s credit card, the Apple Card, offers a nice mix of integration with Apple Pay, daily cash back, and an elegant interface in the Wallet app on your iPhone. Until recently, however, it was impossible to get your transaction data out of Wallet except in PDF form....
by Terry McAdams | May 20, 2020 | How-To, Mac, Messages, troubleshooting
Are you the person your friends and family members turn to for questions about the Mac? In normal times, those questions might come over dinner or at another in-person gathering, such that you could look directly at their Mac to see what was going on. Now, however,...
