“The DNS (Domain Name System) is the phonebook of the Internet” (Cloudflare). When you enter a URL in a web browser, your computer first contacts a DNS server to find out the actual address hosting the website. What is DNS Really? When you send a letter by snail mail, the postal system needs [...]
macOS Big Sur being out might be yesterday’s news but I just upgraded. The new version supports Macs from 2013 and later except for the Early 2013 MacBook Pro and the 2013 iMac. Among my first impressions, I’ve found a few changes that reduce my productivity and a few others that actually benefit me. [...]
When you get a new Mac, Apple’s Migration Assistant utility makes it really easy to migrate all your data from your old one. Even if all of your documents are stored in one cloud or another, your third-party applications and settings are not, and some other personal data might also be only on your [...]
Have you been anxiously awaiting my approval to upgrade to macOS Big Sur? Get some insight to ensure you and your Mac are ready for a whole new world. Okay, maybe not entirely new, but there are some revolutionary changes in this version of macOS. Be prepared so your eyes and hands aren’t visually [...]
I discovered SeeClickFix several years ago and have used it in Berkeley, Oakland, and D.C. to report potholes, traffic signal glitches, and more. The app partners with municipal governments so citizens can request repairs to issues they discover on their way. What is 311? Per Wikipedia, “3-1-1 is a special telephone number supported in many communities in Canada [...]
Various websites offer you the ability to sign in and/or create an account profile using another digital identity like Google or Facebook. In 2019, Apple introduced Sign in with Apple, a way to ease account creation in apps and websites while maintaining personal data privacy. Easy Sign-in & Account Creation Where supported, Sign in with [...]
Flexibits, the developer of Fantastical, which I use as my primary calendaring app on macOS and iOS, released Cardhop in 2017. Previously, I mentioned it in Mac Mondays: Contact Lenses. I’ve long appreciated Fantastical’s natural language smarts for event creation and I jumped at the opportunity to experience the same in a contacts app. Along with the language [...]
Do you type faster on your Mac than your iPhone? If you send and receive text messages, you might benefit from texting on your Mac. Apple added support for Text Message Forwarding to iOS 8.1 and OS X Yosemite in 2014. This feature enables the Mac to send and receive SMS text messages via an [...]
There remains a common myth that quitting apps on iPhone (swiping them out of the app switcher) is a way to conserve battery. It’s not, so stop thinking that it is. Stepping a bit beyond my discussion earlier this year in Battery Health & Repair, here are some tips for making your devices last [...]
Sometimes it’s helpful to be able to download an online video to watch offline, extract just the audio, or share previously streamed, private content on another platform. There is a built-in command line tool on the Mac called youtube-dl as well as a number of third party applications available that can do this, too. One newcomer [...]
