Posts By: Gary Rosenzweig

Early personal computers made it easy to get into programming. Today's computers come ready-to-use and most people will never write a single line of code. Learn the basic concepts of coding with 6 lessons in less then 20 minutes. Use Script Editor on your Mac to write simple programs and take your first steps in learning how software works.

Sending large files as email attachments can be probematic when you have server limits and bandwidth issues on either end. There are better ways to send files. You can use photo or video-specific sharing sites. For other files you can use free file sharing services, cloud services or get your own professional server.

Status Menus, also called Menu Bar Icons, are the small menus that appear on the right side of your Mac's menu bar. Learn how to arrange, remove and add them. Find out how access hidden features and functions. Get more from third-party apps. See how you can access them with your keyboard and other tricks.

Many people decide to skip using a backup like Time Machine to protect the files on their Mac, in favor of simply using iCloud Drive and iCloud Photos. While cloud services are a great way to sync and access your files across devices, they fall short when compared to backing up with something like Time Machine. Learn why you should use Time Machine in addition to iCloud to keep your files and photos safe.

iMovie offers limited setting for exporting videos. You can use Apple's Compressor app to take high-quality iMovie videos and compress them however you like. You can also create stand-alone droplet apps to make repeated conversions quick and easy. You can do the same with audio files creating in GarageBand and elsewhere.

While playing around with building organizational diagrams in Pages, I took a detour to make diagrams that actually perform calculations using one-cell tables in Numbers. It is kinda neat. I'm calling them "Flowsheets." Take a look at this example. I'll attach the document too.

Learn the basics of using Automator on your Mac to create workflows. Automator is a useful productivity tool but it can be intimidating for non-programmers. Learn how to use Actions to build Workflows to get things done. This is a basic introduction for those who have never used Automator before.

How can you type on your Mac if you keyboard isn't working or is missing? How can you control the cursor to click on things if your mouse or trackpad is not working? There are methods to type and point that you can use in an emergency or until you get a replacement. You can bring up the Accessibility Keyboard to type using the cursor, and use Mouse Keys to move to cursor using only the keyboard. The trick is to know how to bring those up when things aren't working.

When you use the Markup tools in Preview, it may seem like there is no way to add something like a shape and then rotate it. You can rotate, however, as long as you use a trackpad. Just select the shape and use two fingers on the trackpad to rotate the selection. Works with text and other elements too. Should work anywhere the Markup tool can be accessed, such as marking up an image in Mail or Photos.

You can use the Maps app on your Mac for more than just finding locations and getting directions. You can create maps to be used in other apps as well. You can export a map into Preview and then annotate it to send in an email or message. You can copy and paste or export a map to use in Pages documents, Keynote presentations and iMovie video projects. You can also export satellite and 3D views.

Apple released the first beta of iOS 13.4 today and with it an important change to the Apple ecosystem. Starting with that version of iOS and probably the equivalent version of macOS, tvOS and watchOS, developers will be able to offer universal app purchases.

I often talk about shortcuts and other ways to be more productive on yoru Mac. Here are 10 shortcuts that I actually use in my work every day including how I prefer to resize windows, switch apps, avoid typing my long email address and more.

There are many commands and modifiers you can add to your Google searches to get better results. You can narrow searches to a single site, look for exact phrases, search using an image instead of text and much more. There are also special Google pages and sites that Google offers with tons of useful information.

Remember back in the 1980s when computers were things that you would buy and then use to learn how to program? You turned on the Apple II and you were greeted with a command line and could start programming in BASIC right away. This is how I started. You can't really do this on a Mac, but you can do something kinda like it. The <strong>Script Editor</strong> app can be used to get started with JavaScript in a similar way to how the Apple II let you learn BASIC. And JavaScript is related and similar to so many modern programming languages, so it is a good place to start. So I decided to try to recreate a simple BASIC learning workbook, but using Script Editor and JavaScript. I'm not sure if the result is good or not. It certainly is long, at 25 minutes. Or, maybe that is short for what it covers. I'm thinking of doing this in a more polished way as a regular MacMost video. In the meantime, here's my first attempt at such a tutorial.

If you have songs in the Music app that are missing information then the app may not group them by artist or album correctly. You can correct this information easily in the app. You can also modify songs so they appear on the proper albums and sorted in the right order. You can add album artwork too, and set the order of tracks in an album. This works the same way before Catalina in the iTunes app and will even work for songs obtained from Apple Music and sync with your other devices.

Numbers is a huge app with tons of features. If you use it a lot, you can benefit from learning some tips, tricks and techniques. Learn how to autofill cells, re-apply sorts, get quick calculation results, automatically format cells, hidden keyboard shortcuts and much more.

The Clips app from Apple can be used to create video slideshows from your photos. You can add images one-by-one with titles and captions, audio narration and filters. Then you can edit and export the result to share.

If you want to copy the current web browser URL, don’t use your cursor to select it. Instead, use Command+L and the address will be instantly selected. Then Command+C to copy. This tends to be much quicker and cleaner than selecting with the cursor because many URLs are so long.

I'm a huge fan of RTS (real-time strategy) games. Back in the heyday of RTS games, titles like Age of Empires and Rise of Nations were my favorites. But those games are so old they don't work on modern Macs. I miss them. I was surprised to see a new game appear, and not from a major studio or developer. And is is definitely built for modern computers with way better graphics, etc. Take a look.

After upgrading to macOS Catalina, many users mistakenly believe that the new Music app requires that you subscribe to Apple Music. In fact, you can use the Music app just like you used the old iTunes app. You can ignore Apple Music and listen to songs in yoru own library, import new music just like you did before, and also buy music in the iTunes Store. You can also disable Apple Music entirely in the app.