Tip - MacTech Solutions

Take Quick Videos with the Camera Control

Terry McAdams — Fri, 04 Sep 2026 20:04:28 +0000

Sometimes you need to start recording video instantly—to document an incident, capture a fleeting moment, or preserve evidence. Apple has provided a shortcut that reduces the effort to just two presses of the Camera Control on the iPhone 16 and later. Press it once to open the Camera app, then press and hold again to start recording a video instantly—it keeps recording as long as you hold the Camera Control down and stops when you let up. If you don’t want to hold the Camera Control the entire time, you’ll need to switch the Camera app to video mode, after which a press of the Camera Control starts recording, and another press stops it.

(Images by Adam Engst; heron added by ChatGPT)

Social Media: Need to capture a moment fast? On iPhone 16 and later, press the Camera Control once to open the Camera app, then press and hold to start recording video instantly.

Find What’s Filling Your Disk with OmniDiskSweeper

Terry McAdams — Fri, 04 Sep 2026 20:04:03 +0000

It’s annoying when your Mac tells you you’re low on disk space and you can’t imagine what could be occupying it. Or maybe you know you’re running low—a good rule of thumb is to keep at least 10% of the drive free—but aren’t sure which files or folders are hogging the most space. Visualization tools like GrandPerspective and DaisyDisk can help you see what’s using your disk space, but if all you want is a simple hierarchical browser, the free OmniDiskSweeper is worth a try. It sorts your folders by size, and you can keep drilling down to find and trash the largest items you no longer need. The screenshot shows that the now-discontinued ChatGPT Atlas browser is still consuming several gigabytes of cache space—a good reminder to delete the entire app and its files!

(Featured image generated by Adam Engst with ChatGPT)

Social Media: Running low on Mac disk space? The free OmniDiskSweeper shows which files and folders are hogging your storage, sorted by size so you can quickly find and trash the biggest culprits.

Keep a USB Mouse and Keyboard Around for Troubleshooting

Terry McAdams — Fri, 04 Sep 2026 20:03:54 +0000

Apple’s wireless Magic Mouse, Magic Trackpad, and Magic Keyboard are the norm for desktop Macs, but they aren’t infallible. Batteries die, pairing can fail, and worst of all, if you need to boot into macOS Recovery, that’s a bad time to discover that your wireless keyboard or pointing device isn’t connecting for whatever reason. You can plug a Magic Keyboard or Magic Trackpad into your Mac with a USB-C cable, but that won’t work with a Magic Mouse—it’s unavailable for use while charging. That’s why it helps to keep a dedicated wired USB mouse and keyboard tucked away for troubleshooting purposes. Any brand should work, but if yours has an older USB Type-A connector, make sure you have a USB-C adapter available.

(Images by iStock.com/ziprashantzi and Rachel Wickremasinghe)

Social Media: For troubleshooting, your wireless Magic Keyboard and Magic Trackpad can work over USB-C if needed, but if Bluetooth or pairing fails when you’re booting into macOS Recovery, an old or cheap wired USB mouse and keyboard can save the day.

Beware of Scam Party Invitations from Hijacked Accounts

Terry McAdams — Fri, 04 Sep 2026 20:03:40 +0000

The latest scam making the rounds preys on your trust and sociability. You receive what appears to be a party invite from a friend via an invitation service like Paperless Post or Punchbowl. The email legitimately comes from your friend’s account, which has been compromised, but clicking any link in it takes you to a fake site that asks for your email credentials. (You have to love the “SAFE TO OPEN” line in the example below.) If you supply your email password, your account becomes the next one hijacked, and the scammer can then use email-based password resets to access your financial and other sensitive accounts. To protect yourself, be suspicious of invitations that lack basic details like date and location, preview links before clicking (hover on a Mac, touch and hold on an iPhone or iPad), and never enter your email password on any site other than your email provider’s own login page. Most importantly, enable two-factor authentication on your email accounts—it stops these takeovers in their tracks.

(Featured image generated by Adam Engst with ChatGPT)

Social Media: A convincing party invite scam uses hijacked email accounts to send you fake invitations from people you know. Learn how to spot the red flags—and why enabling two-factor authentication on your email is the best defense.

Turn Off Unused Sharing Services on Your Mac

Terry McAdams — Fri, 07 Aug 2026 17:19:07 +0000

Apple just released macOS 26.6.1 Tahoe, macOS 15.7.9 Sequoia, and macOS 14.8.9 Sonoma solely to patch a vulnerability in Screen Sharing that could allow unauthenticated connections from attackers on the network. Yes, you should update, but also take a moment to visit System Settings > General > Sharing and turn off any sharing services you aren’t actively using. Many security breaches stem from simple oversight, and it’s easy to turn on a service and forget to turn it off later. All these services let you limit access to particular users, but passwords can be stolen, accounts can be compromised, and server software can have bugs. The most important services to turn off when not in active use are File Sharing, Screen Sharing, Remote Management, Remote Login, and Remote Application Scripting. We also caution against leaving Printer Sharing and Internet Sharing on unnecessarily.

(Featured image generated by Adam Engst with ChatGPT)

Social Media: Apple patched a Screen Sharing flaw that let attackers connect without authentication. Update now—and while you’re thinking about it, turn off any sharing services you’re not actively using.

Be Careful When Offloading iPhone Apps

Terry McAdams — Fri, 07 Aug 2026 17:18:48 +0000

Automatic offloading of seldom-used apps can be a good strategy for recovering space on an iPhone whose storage is almost full, and iOS can do this for you in Settings > Apps > App Store > Offload Unused Apps. When you open an app that was offloaded, iOS will re-download it from the App Store so you can use it—assuming you have Internet access. But what if you have little or no connectivity when you need an offloaded app? For instance, if you have a New York State Parks Empire Pass, you might find yourself unable to use it if the necessary NY State Parks Explorer app has been offloaded and connectivity is weak at the park. We can also imagine app offloading causing problems if you need to use a local transit app after an international flight but haven’t yet arranged local cellular service. If you’re concerned about this possibility, disable Offload Unused Apps and make sure to download any that have been offloaded already.

(Featured image generated by Adam Engst with ChatGPT)

Social Media: Automatic offloading of unused apps saves iPhone storage, but it’s inconvenient if you need an app that has been offloaded and there’s no connectivity to redownload it. Plan ahead!

WhatCable Reports on Your USB-C Cables

Terry McAdams — Fri, 07 Aug 2026 17:18:29 +0000

We’ve all ended up with a collection of random USB-C cables that arrived with devices, were purchased while traveling, or were left by visitors. But you can’t look at a cable to determine its data speed, how much power it can carry, or whether it’s hampering display quality. You could buy a hardware tester, but for most people, the free WhatCable is all you need. Just launch it and plug in a cable to learn what the cable can do and whether it might be causing performance or charging problems. If you need even more information, the £9.99 WhatCable Pro lets you name individual cables, troubleshoot flaky cables, and see what each port, cable, dock, adapter, and device supports and what was actually negotiated.

(Featured image by iStock.com/monticelllo)

Social Media: Not sure if your USB-C cable is delivering power and data as it should? USB-C cables look similar but may work differently. Use the free WhatCable app to see what each of your cables supports.

Prepare for macOS, iOS, and iPadOS OS 27 by Updating to 26.6

Terry McAdams — Fri, 07 Aug 2026 17:18:08 +0000

Apple released macOS 26.6 Tahoe, iOS 26.6, and iPadOS 26.6 with a huge number of fixes for security vulnerabilities. However, the release notes for each also include an unusual comment along the lines of “optimizes the Spotlight index in preparation for macOS 27.” At WWDC, Apple promised a rearchitected Spotlight search engine that would be faster and more reliable, so this optimization is likely designed to reduce the time that Spotlight spends rebuilding its index (and thus degrading system performance) after the forthcoming major upgrade. We’ll see how well it works, but for now, consider Spotlight optimization another reason to update to the 26.6 versions using Software Update before you make the jump to the 27 versions later this year.

(Featured image by iStock.com/Pakpoom Makpan)

Social Media: We recommend updating to macOS 26.6 Tahoe, iOS 26.6, and iPadOS 26.6, not just for the many security fixes, but also because they promise to optimize Spotlight performance for the forthcoming version 27 upgrades.

Try Swipe Typing with QuickPath on the iPhone

Terry McAdams — Fri, 03 Jul 2026 20:19:23 +0000

If you’ve had trouble moving from hunt-and-peck typing on the iPhone to the double-thumb typing approach many people prefer, consider QuickPath, better known as swipe typing. QuickPath isn’t new, but many people have never tried it seriously. With swipe typing, you put your finger down on the first letter of the desired word—say “giraffe”—and then drag it from the G to each subsequent letter in order. Although QuickPath’s detection code isn’t perfect, it does surprisingly well at recognizing the word you want most of the time. If QuickPath gets the word wrong, immediately tap the Delete key to remove the entire word and either try again (if you missed the right letters) or type it normally (if it’s an unusual word iOS doesn’t know). Learning to swipe type fluidly takes a little while, but if you’re unhappy with how well you type on the iPhone now, it’s worth trying.

(Featured image generated by Adam Engst with ChatGPT)

Social Media: Tired of hunt-and-peck typing on your iPhone? Try QuickPath—just drag your finger across each letter in a word to swipe-type it. It’s surprisingly accurate and worth learning.

Drag Documents to Apps in the macOS App Switcher

Terry McAdams — Fri, 03 Jul 2026 20:19:02 +0000

You undoubtedly know about pressing Command-Tab to bring up the macOS App Switcher and mousing to the app you want to switch to. Keyboard jockeys probably even know to keep holding Command down while pressing Tab or right-arrow to cycle to the right (press Shift-Tab, the grave accent/tilde key, or left-arrow to cycle to the left), before releasing the Command key to switch. But did you know you can start dragging something—say a document from the Finder—with your right hand, press Command-Tab with your left hand, and then drop the document on an app in the App Switcher to open it? Go ahead, give it a try!

(Featured image generated by Adam Engst with ChatGPT)

Social Media: Did you know you can open a file quickly by dragging it onto an app in the macOS App Switcher? Start dragging, press Command-Tab, and drop. It’s one of the App Switcher’s many tricks.

Never Miss a Meeting Again with In Your Face

Terry McAdams — Fri, 03 Jul 2026 20:18:34 +0000

If you are often late to or miss meetings because Apple’s notifications are too easy to ignore, we recommend trying the In Your Face app. Available for the Mac, Windows, iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch, In Your Face displays unmissable full-screen alerts and plays audible alarms for calendar events and timed reminders. Unlike standard notifications that quietly vanish or sit unnoticed in your pocket, these alerts take over your screen and require interaction to dismiss—you can acknowledge, snooze, or join a video call directly from the alert. In Your Face automatically detects meeting links from 30 video conferencing services, including Zoom, Microsoft Teams, and Google Meet. You can filter which calendars and reminder lists trigger alerts, so you’re interrupted only for events that matter. But be careful with meeting start times since mistakenly setting an early lunch meeting for 11:45 PM could cause your iPhone to wake you up. In Your Face offers a free trial, with subscriptions starting at $3.99 per month or $24.99 per year, and a one-time license for $69.

(Featured image based on an original by iStock.com/Thaspol and modified with ChatGPT)

Social Media: Tired of missing meetings because you didn’t notice the notification? In Your Face shows unmissable full-screen alerts before calendar events and makes joining video calls easy. It’s available for the Mac, Windows, iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch.

Use Your AirPods as a Camera Remote

Terry McAdams — Fri, 05 Jun 2026 15:50:25 +0000

Have you ever wanted to activate the shutter button for your iPhone’s camera—for either a still photo or a video—when you’re not holding it? Selfie sticks often come with Bluetooth buttons that can do that, and starting in iOS 26, you also can use your AirPods 4 or AirPods Pro as a camera remote. While you’re wearing your AirPods, turn on the feature in Settings > AirPods > Camera Remote, where you can choose between triggering the shutter with a single press or a press and hold. Note that whichever option you turn on will override the usual actions for those triggers.

(Featured image by iStock.com/PeopleImages)

Social Media: Your AirPods can now double as a camera remote in iOS 26. Here’s how to set it up so a press or press-and-hold triggers the shutter to take a photo or start and stop a video.

Not Sure If You’re Presentable for a Video Call? Try Hand Mirror

Terry McAdams — Fri, 05 Jun 2026 15:50:06 +0000

Since the pandemic, video calls have become a fact of life for many of us, so much so that it’s now possible to sit down for a meeting without thinking about whether you’ve changed out of your pajamas or brushed your hair. (No judgment; we’ve all done it.) To ensure that you’re presentable before you connect, use the Mac app Hand Mirror. It adds an icon to your menu bar that, when clicked, shows you what your webcam sees. Hand Mirror is free, but you can pay $6.99 for Hand Mirror Plus, which adds features like snapshots, a mic check, quick access to reaction icons, different window types, and more.

(Featured image by iStock.com/Tatsiana Volkava)

Social Media: About to join a video call? The free Mac app Hand Mirror adds a menu bar icon that instantly shows your webcam view so you can check your hair before anyone else sees it.

Office 2019 for Mac Goes Read-Only on July 13, 2026

Terry McAdams — Fri, 05 Jun 2026 15:46:49 +0000

If you’re still using Microsoft Office 2019 for Mac, on July 13, 2026, an expiring certificate will cause your copies of Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook to enter “reduced functionality mode,” meaning you can view and print documents but cannot edit or create new ones. To check if you’re affected, open Word and choose Word > About Microsoft Word (or the equivalent in any other Office app). If it says you’re using Office 2019, you need to act before July 13. Some newer versions are also affected but can be updated—for Office 2021 and Microsoft 365, an update is required for app versions under 16.83, and macOS 12 Monterey or later is required. For Office 2019 users, options include subscribing to Microsoft 365 ($99.99/year), purchasing a one-time license for Office 2024 for $179.99 (Home) or $249.99 (Home & Business with Outlook), or switching to alternatives like Apple’s iWork apps (Pages, Numbers, and Keynote), LibreOffice, or Google Docs. New purchases of Microsoft 365 or Office 2024 require macOS 14 Sonoma or later, so users whose Macs can’t upgrade must use Microsoft 365 on the Web, consider the alternatives, or upgrade their hardware.

(Featured image based on an original by iStock.com/grinvalds)

Social Media: Microsoft Office 2019 for Mac will become read-only on July 13, 2026. Check your version now and explore your upgrade options before you lose the ability to create and edit documents.

Use Fake Contacts to Improve Dictation Accuracy

Terry McAdams — Fri, 05 Jun 2026 15:45:42 +0000

Apple’s Dictation feature is a great way to avoid slow typing on the iPhone and iPad, and it can be welcome on the Mac as well. But it struggles with proper nouns—it guesses wildly at unfamiliar names and often fails to capitalize common words that are part of a name (so you get “New York Public library”). Apple doesn’t provide a user-editable dictionary, but there’s a backdoor solution: create entries in Contacts. When you create a fake contact for a troublesome word or phrase, Dictation learns to recognize it correctly across all your Apple devices. Put the word or phrase in the First Name field and add an emoji like 🙉 in the Last Name field so these fake contacts sort to the bottom of your Contacts list and don’t clutter the display. For stubborn words, you may need to train Dictation by dictating a few practice sentences in Notes and correcting mistakes when iOS offers alternatives. This trick works for place names, organization names, technical terms, or any word that Dictation consistently gets wrong.

(Featured image by iStock.com/Jacob Wackerhausen)

Social Media: Frustrated when Dictation on the iPhone mangles what you meant to say? Create fake contacts for troublesome words, and Dictation will learn to recognize them correctly across all your Apple devices.