Remember the Magnifier App When You Need to Read Tiny Text
Trying to make out a tiny serial number or some fine print you can barely read can be frustrating. Years ago, Apple added a magnifier mode to its accessibility options and turned the feature into a standalone app in iOS 14. You can find the Magnifier app in the Utilities folder in your App Library […]
Insert Emoji More Easily with Text Replacements
For many of us, emoji are fun, but we don’t want to choose Edit > Emoji & Symbols whenever we want to insert one. A faster, better technique is to set up text replacements for emoji you insert often. Open System Settings > Keyboard > Text Replacements, click the + button at the bottom, and […]
It’s Usually OK to Share Full-Size Images in Email and Messages
In the early days of the Internet, when most people connected via slow modems, saving bandwidth was a big deal. You could watch images load on Web pages, and you’d have to wait to download a large email attachment before the rest of your email would appear. For most people, in most situations, bandwidth isn’t […]
Prep Your Tech for Travel
Long ago, to get ready for a trip, we’d mostly make sure we had our plane tickets, books and magazines to read, and a snack. Prepping for travel in today’s tech-heavy world comes with a new set of tasks, most of which shouldn’t be left to the last minute. Identify Devices, Chargers, and Cables to […]
Apple Explains Its Approach to Device Longevity
We Apple users tend to believe that our devices usually last longer—both physically and functionally—than Windows PCs and Android smartphones. For instance, Apple’s current operating systems work on nearly all Macs, iPhones, and iPads introduced in 2018 and later, albeit with some feature loss on the oldest devices. In a white paper entitled “Longevity, by […]
Send Photos in Messages Faster with This Hidden Shortcut
On the iPhone and iPad, to send a photo to a Messages chat, tap the ⊕ button and then tap Photos in the list that appears to reveal the photo picker. That’s not difficult, but it requires an extra step you can avoid with this tip. If you’re running iOS 17 or iPadOS 17, instead […]
Changing Passwords Periodically Doesn’t Increase Security
Does your organization or some financial website require you to create a new password periodically? This practice was recommended long ago, but some organizations haven’t kept up with current recommendations that discourage such policies. If you’re bound by a password expiration policy, you can use this article to encourage your IT department or financial institution […]
For the Best Mac Webcam, Use Your iPhone
The near-ubiquity of videoconferencing is a lasting effect of the pandemic. The ease of gathering a group virtually usually more than makes up for the downsides. Despite that, many people still appear in video calls with low-resolution, poorly lit video that makes the call less effective. A better webcam is an easy way to improve […]
The Importance of Staying Updated
Does it feel like your Apple devices are always asking you to install operating system updates? You’re not wrong—from September 2022 to January 2024, we saw the following releases in Apple’s previous set of operating systems: macOS 13 Ventura: 20 releases iOS 16: 25 releases iPadOS 16: 20 releases watchOS 9: 15 releases tvOS 16: […]
Use 1Password to Enter Your Mac Login Password
We think of 1Password as being helpful for entering passwords on websites and in iPhone and iPad apps. But its Universal Autofill feature has a hidden capability that lets 1Password enter your Mac login password when you have to provide it to change certain system settings, install apps, format drives in Disk Utility, and more. […]