MacMost: Archives

Treating the Mac App Store As a Cloud Service
3/7/19
When you buy or download a free app in the Mac App Store, you can load it on any Mac using the same Apple ID. You can also easily remove the app if you don't think you need it in the near future, and then download it again any time you wish. You load apps with the Mac App Store and remove them with LaunchPad. This makes the Mac App Store similar to cloud services from Adobe and Microsoft.
3/6/19
Previously, if you had replaced your iPhone’s battery with one from a third-party, then Apple would no longer touch your iPhone. If that battery failed or something else broke on your iPhone, you were on your own. But now Apple has changed that policy, allowing the Genius Bars and authorized service providers to fix broken screens and other issues even if the battery had been replaced with a non-Apple one.
Taking RAW Photos With Your iPhone
3/6/19

You can take RAW photos with your iPhone, you just can't do it with the default Camera app. Apple does allow third-party apps to access the hardware and software needed to take RAW photos, so you can use one of the many options to do it. RAW photos provide a lot more flexibility than HEIC or JPEG photos, but with a much larger file size. Using a third-party app means you can keep using the Camera app for regular photos and use the other app when you want to take RAW.

Resetting Your Mac's NVRAM and SMC
3/5/19

Resetting the Non-Volatile memory and System Management Controller is one way to troubleshoot problems with your Mac. But the methods for resetting those have changed with the latest hardware which include T2 chips. Most users will never have to deal with these, but if you do, learn Apple's recommended method for resetting these.

What Is 5G?
3/4/19

5G is the name given to the next generation of mobile data networks. It will be much faster than the current 4G/LTE networks we use with our iPhones today. That speed may lead to other uses, such as as a replacement for home network options as well. The problem with 5G is that it doesn't have the range of 4G, so it will require more transmitters spaced closer together. Therefore, it may only be used in cities.

Adding Printers To Your Dock
3/1/19

You can add printer icons to the Dock to make it easier to print documents with drag-and-drop. You can also quickly access the printer cue and settings. This is particularly handy if you work with multiple printers.

Create Reusable Text With Text Clippings
2/28/19

Text Clippings are little files you create using drag-and-drop. Once you have a text clipping, you can drag-and-drop or copy-and-paste it back into another document. You can organize your text clippings in the Finder. They are particularly useful because they retain text styling.

Free iPhone Ringtones Revisited
2/27/19

Back in 2008 we created a huge set of 250 free iPhone ringtones for people to download and use on their iPhones. The page has been updated to put all of the ringtones in one huge list, make it easy to preview the tones, and also easier to install them directly on your iPhone. Check out this tutorial on how to download them without needing to sync with a computer and iTunes.

4 Ways To Type Fractions On a Mac
2/26/19

You can type fractions in text and word processing documents in a number of ways. The simplest is to use a slash character between numbers. This also works in cases where you want your Mac to perform calculations, like in Spotlight. But you can also format the fractions nicely using baseline shifts, special fraction characters, and the math equation editors in Pages and Word.

2/25/19
Apple has confirmed that it is closing two stores located in the Eastern District of Texas, and opening at least one new one in a nearby Dallas shopping mall. The move seems to be related to the fact that most patent troll lawsuits occur in this district and by closing its stores there, Apple can avoid those lawsuits from being filed there.
Streaming Real Radio Stations In iTunes
2/25/19

iTunes has always had the ability to stream real live radio stations, but this feature is hard to find in the latest versions of iTunes. Once you enable it, you can browse through a huge list of radio stations from around the world. You can also save stations to the iTunes sidebar. Even if a station isn't listed, you can often find the streaming address on their website and use that in iTunes too.

New Course: The Guide to iCloud
2/22/19

In my new course, I try to help you get the most from iCloud. Here is an excerpt from the first lesson which explains how cloud services work. The course then goes on to show you how to set up iCloud on Mac and iOS. Further videos explain each feature of iCloud such as iCloud Drive, Photos, data syncing, backups, email, sharing and more. You can learn about this and more in the new Guide to iCloud course at https://macmost.com/icloud

How To Customize Your iPhone iCloud Backup
2/21/19

Most iPhone and iPad users rely on iCloud Backup to keep their data safe, even if they don't realize they are using it. You can customize which apps backup to iCloud if you look in the right place in the Settings app. If you want to stick with iCloud's free storage plan you may need to do this to remain under the limit. You can learn about this and more in the new Guide to iCloud course at https://macmost.com/icloud

2/20/19
There have been rumors for a couple of years now that apps may go cross-platform, working on both macOS and iOS. This isn’t actually far-fetched at all, since developers already can use shared code to develop mobile and desktop versions of the same apps. However, a report from Bloomberg points to Apple releasing software development tools at WWDC to make this even easier.
Enhancing Your Favorites Bar With Emoji
2/20/19

The Favorties Bar in Safari can be a hard-to-read line of small text. But you can always add any Emoji character, just like you can with folder and file names. Finding the perfect emoji for a bookmark is sometimes easy and at other times challenging. The result is a colorful and easier-to-read Favorites Bar and Bookmarks menu.

Masking Video In Keynote With a Donut
2/19/19

It is easy to put an image in a shape and mask the image using Keynote. But you cannot do the same with video. However, you can place a shape or image on top of a video. So by using the right shape, like the donut shape, editing it, and positioning it just right, you can put video in a circular mask.

2/18/19
The renown financial analyst Ming-Chi Kuo is speculating once again and the rumors sites are eating it up. Two far-fetched rumors have Apple re-entering two markets it has left: large laptops and desktop displays. A new MacBook Pro with a display as large as 16.5-inches could be Apple’s largest laptop since it stopped making the 17-inch model in 2012. A 31.6-inch 6K display could come out later this year, possibly to be used by a future Mac Pro. However, 5K displays have been out for a while they are hard to find as most people opt for the much more reasonable-priced 4K displays.
When Does the Mac Red Button Quit an App and When Does It Just Close a Window?
2/18/19

When you click the red button at the top left corner of a window on a Mac, you close that window. But sometimes this also quits the app entirely. There is a logic behind this, based on how the app operates. Apps that allow multiple windows for multiple documents usually only use the red button to close a window. But apps that normally operate with a single window and have no other reason to stay open, will quit.

4 Ways To Type Superscript and Subscript On a Mac
2/15/19

If you need to raise characters above or lower them below the baseline, you can do it one of four ways. This is typically used in mathematical equations and chemical formulas. You can use the baseline adjustments in many apps, special superscript and subscript characters, commonly-recognized symbols, and the equation editor in Pages.

2/14/19
If you don’t understand what iCloud is or how to use it, you are not alone. As someone that helps people with their Apple products every day, this is one of the topics I am asked about the most.