IMPORTANT NOTE: It has been reported that Night Owl has since changed ownership and now includes malware-like behavior, contacting Internet servers and possibly using your Mac as a market research tool. Its own terms of service seems to confirm this. I will leave this video here, for now, for historical reference but do not recommend installing this app on your Mac any longer.
Dark Mode in macOS Mojave is a great new feature, but Apple didn't give us a way to quickly switch between light and dark modes. The little donation-ware app NightOwl gives you that control in your menu bar. You can also set a keyboard shortcut, select apps to stay in light mode, and set specific times to switch between modes.
Keeping your Mac free of malware and using strong passwords for your online accounts are two important things you need to do to stay safe and secure. But even if you succeed at these, you can still be vulnerable to common scams that use social engineering to trick you out of your money, privacy and security. Even the most intelligent person can fall victim to a scam if they don’t recognize it when it happens to them. The key to keeping yourself safe is to know the common scams so you recognize them when someone tries to trick you.
Using an iPhone X model with one hand can be tough as the top of the screen is too far away to reach the top of the screen. However, with a simple gesture you can bring the top of the screen down halfway. This works on any iPhone X model and also works with any iPhone Plus model, but using the Home button instead of a gesture.
A new feature of Amazon Echo devices is that they now support Apple Music. Previously, you could use a number of music streaming services with Echo devices, but Apple Music was left out. With Echo dots being so inexpensive, this allows Apple Music users to hear their music in many places without needing a Bluetooth speaker or Apple HomePod. You can now ask Alexa to play your Apple Music songs, albums, and playlists. You can even make Apple Music your default service.
An unusual promotion from Apple allows users to get up to $20 for free when they preload their account with up to $200. This promotion only runs from Dec. 17 to Dec. 20 in the U.S. (more...)
If you want to keep a paperless office, you need to be able to scan documents. Previously, you needed a scanner to do this. But today you can use your iPhone to scan documents quickly and easily. With Continuity Camera you can scan directly into your Mac using your iPhone. You need to make sure you have both Wi-Fi and Bluetooth enabled with both devices and that they are using the same Apple ID and latest macOS and iOS.
Apple Music Connect was a service that allowed artists to post text, images and media to iTunes, and fans could follow artists and get content they may not see anywhere else. It launched in 2015, but failed to catch on and showed signs of closing as early as 2016. (more...)
The GPU, or Graphics Processing Unit, is one of the most important components of any computer or device. Macs come with a variety of different GPUs. For many users, the GPU power doesn't matter much, but for anyone working with graphics, video or playing games, the GPU is very important. Some MacBook Pros come with two GPUs and will switch between them to save battery life.
If you need to carry over the value of a cell from on table to another in Numbers, you can do that simply by including a formula that just references that other cell. There is no need to figure out the exact way to reference the original cell, as you can just click to grab the cell reference. The same technique can be used to reference a cell from a different sheet.
A new update for Microsoft Office gives the suite of apps support for macOS Mojave Dark Mode, Continuity Camera in Powerpoint and more. There is also support for embedded fonts in Word. The update is available for Microsoft Office 365 subscribers and for those that purchased Microsoft Office 2019. (more...)
Mac users often freak out when they look at the Storage settings in About This Mac and find that System storage takes up way more space than they think it should. However, if they wait a bit the storage meter will continue to calculate what takes up space and allocate it to iCloud Drive and other things. Even once this is done, a fairly large System storage amount can be accounted for by looking at your System folder, system Library folder, and user Library folders.
Infinity Blade by Epic Games was often held up by Apple in keynote presentations and advertisements as an example of amazing console-like graphics on the iPad and iPhone. But now Epic has pulled all three games from the iOS App Store, saying it is too difficult to continue support. (more...)
If you want to watermark your photos before sharing them using a logo or other graphic, you can build a semi-transparent image in Pixelmator and then use an Automator Quick Action to easily apply that watermark to any image file. A special Pixelmator watermarking action helps to make it a one-step Automator workflow.
Formulas can get very large and complex. One way to simplify them is to use columns to perform parts of the calculation, and then hide those columns when you have your system working. In this example, we'll use columns to extract the year and month from a date, and then use that in a SUMIF formula that would be very complex otherwise.
If you wish to put a watermark, like a "Draft Copy" or "Classified" label on your Pages document before printing or distributing a PDF, you can do it easily using Section Masters. You can place anything back there, such as text, shapes, or images. In this example, we'll place some diagonal text across the background and it will appear on all pages.
Owners of the Apple Watch Series 4 will get a watchOS update to 5.1.2 today, featuring the new ECG app. This app allows the wearer to take an electrocardiogram which can predict possible heart issues. (more...)
