Posts By: Gary Rosenzweig

Don’t like the sound your Mac plays when there is an error or alert? The default alert sound can be changed in System Preferences, Sound, Sound Effects. You can also adjust the volume of the alert. Not all apps will use this alert sound.

Seems that Apple has planned all along to release new products each day this week ahead of next week’s “It’s show time” event. This morning Apple launched the long-rumored new AirPods. They allow users to speak commands using Hey Siri instead of tapping. Battery life for phone calls is slightly better, but it is the same for audio playback.

When you create the Notes app on a Mac or iOS device, you can usually use advanced features like tables, checklists, font styles and images. But sometimes you may notice that you can't use any of these features. This is because the Notes app lets you access notes on various services, like iCloud and Google. Those advanced features are only available on iCloud notes. If you are also using Google to store notes, then any notes you create on Google's service won't allow those options.

Apple updated most of its iMac lineup today with new Intel processors, graphics and storage options. The design, ports, screens and pricing for the 4K and 5K iMacs remain the same. The base 4K 21.5-inch iMac comes with a 3.6GHz quad‑core i3, 8GB of memory, and a 1TB hard drive for $1,299 and the base 5K with 3.1GHz 6‑core i5, 8GB of memory and a 1TB Fusion Drive for $1,799. The 1920×1080 iMac remains the same as before at $1,099.

MacBook users miss the old MagSafe power adapters. Third-party products offer an alternative in the age of USB-C power cables. You insert one part into your MacBook and leave it there, and the other part connects to it magnetically. However, since they stick out somewhat, people are afraid that they could inadvertently damage their MacBooks if they catch that edge on something. I take a look at three popular magnetic power adapters for the MacBook and MacBook Pro and compare them.

The new iPad Air includes a 10.5-inch display, A12 Bionic chip, and Apple Pencil support for $499. This model replaces the 10.5-inch iPad Pro, retired today. The new iPad mini also gets the new A12 chip, Apple Pencil support and an updated 7.9-inch display for $399.

When you use Software Instrument Loops in GarageBand, you can switch the instrument used by the loop to something else. For instance, a piano loop can be changed to use guitar or orchestral strings. You can also change the drum kit instrument used by drum loops. Software Instrument Loops can even be edited at the note level to create unique loops.

We all get a lot of spam email. But did you know that websites also get spam? Comment spam is when bots and people post unwanted comments to posts trying to push their products, links and other nonsense. MacMost gets a tons of this. But not as much as just a few years ago. Check out some of the stats and learn a bit about what I do to combat comment spam at MacMost.

If you want to use complex graphics or create an animation in Final Cut Pro, you can build your image in Photoshop or another advanced image editing app that supports layers. You can then import that layered document into Final Cut Pro and access the layers. You can apply changes and effects to each layer, or use them to animate portions of the images.

Apple has sent out the official announcement for their Worldwide Developer Conference, which will be held from June 3 to 7. Developers wishing to attend can register for a lottery to get tickets.

You can copy pages in a PDF document in Preview and paste them to get a new document with only the pages you want. You can split a PDF into two or more smaller documents. You can also merge documents by dragging pages from one document into another.

You can select a file in the Finder and press the spacebar to preview the file in Quick Look. There is a button at the top of the window then to take you into full screen Quick Look mode. But you can hold the Option key down and press the spacebar to jump right into full screen Quick Look.

If you have ever looked in your Applications folder to find nothing in there, or almost all of your apps missing, that is because you can have an Applications folder in your user Home folder as well as at the main hard drive level. Most applications will install to the main hard drive level, making them available to all user accounts on the Mac. But if you look in the wrong Applications folder, it can cause confusion.

Websites use notifications to send you alerts when there is a new post or just to get your attention when not at the site. Sites have to ask for your permission to send these notifications, but it is easy to accidentally allow them if you are not paying attention. You can turn them off by going to your browser settings. Learn how to turn website notifications off in Safari, Chrome and Firebox.

Apple has sent out invitations to the media for a special event on March 25th at its Cupertino headquarters. Rumors have pointed to an event about its upcoming news and video services, and the tag line “It’s show time” on the invitation seems to suggest at least the video service is coming.

Occasionally Apple offers a special bonus if you would like to pre-fund your Apple ID account. From now until March 14, Apple is offering a 10 percent bonus for up to $200. So if you add $200 to your account, you get $20 extra added. Your funds are then used for iTunes purchases, App Store purchases, and recurring charges like iCloud storage and Apple Music.

Many people don't realize that you can use animated GIF images in Keynote presentations without doing anything special. You can just drag and drop them straight from a website or file. You can then set them to loop, start immediately and even trim the animation.

I've read in a few places that you can use .nosync in a filename to mark a file or a whole folder as something that iCloud Drive should not sync. This could be handy as it means you can keep folders full of unimportant temporary files together with your regular files in your Documents folder, and not worry about them taking up space or bandwidth.

Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has made a bold prediction that Apple will launch AR glasses as soon as next year. He guesses that Apple will launch the devices in a similar way to how they launched the Apple Watch, requiring an iPhone for much of the power behind the device. This could help with size, battery life and performance.

If you are getting online help from a source you trust, you can help them by providing a system report generated from the third-party app EtreCheck. This report includes many details about your hardware and software that can help someone help you.