Posts By: Gary Rosenzweig

When I need to post the new MacMost episode to four different social media networks, I use the Open In New Tabs function in Safari to open four webpages at once. This way I am quickly able to post the new episode without much hassle.

You can use the Finder or the System About window to quickly and easily figure out which files are taking up the most space on your drive. Either method allows you to find the files and where they are located. You can use this to find files crowding your drive that you may no longer be using.

If you need a quick random number there are at least three ways to do this on your Mac. You can do it in the Calculator app, but you'll need to perform some extra steps to get a useful value. You can use the RANDBETWEEN function in a temporary Numbers spreadsheet. You can also just ask Siri.

When you have computer problems, experts often tell you to restart your computer. And often that fixes the problem. Why does this work? Is it really the best technique for dealing with computer issues? If you need to restart often, does that mean you should have an expert take a look at your computer?

Use the iTunes Up Next list to pick which songs will play next without needing to create an entire temporary playlist. You can add to the list at the top or the bottom, clear it or reorder it all while you music is playing. You an view he Up Next list from the iTunes toolbar, or the mini player.

You can find your MacBook's battery cycle count in System Information. A cycle is a complete charge of the battery and will not count partial charges as a full charge. So you can feel free to use your battery as needed. Do not be afraid to charge your battery after only using a fraction of the power. Apple maintains a page with expected battery cycle counts for different MacBook models.

You can use the Open With feature to open a file with something other than the default app on your Mac. You can also use Always Open With to change the default for that one file, and the Get Info window to change the default for all files of the same type.

Each video at MacMost has that special poster frame image that you can see on the website and YouTube. It includes a title and two screen grabs from the video. Watch how I create those using a simple template I made in Acorn.

You can use CONVERT to convert numbers from one unit to another. Convert distances from meters to feet, temperatures from Fahrenheit to Celsius, and so on. You can also use cell formatting to attach unit symbols to numbers.

If you need a transparent image, like a circle, arrow or piece of text, you would usually create it in a graphics app. However, there is a way to create transparent images quickly using only Keynote. You can then use these as overlays on other images in Preview or in iMovie.

It is relatively easy to use a VPN service on your Mac. Simply install the software that the service provides, and then set some preferences. From there it is usually automatic. Some services let you pick a server location and set some networks to be trusted at all times.

A simple Terminal command can be used to keep your Mac from sleeping.

What is VPN and why do people use it? VPN stands for Virtual Private Network and it allows you to establish a secure connection from your device, though Wi-Fi and your ISP, to the VPN service, and then out to the Internet. Using a VPN you can mask what you are doing from your ISP, which is particularly useful if you don't trust your ISP, such as when using a connection in a public place.

You can use three special whole-hand gestures on your iPad to switch between apps. There is a gesture for switching to the App Switcher, one for going back to the Home screen, and one for moving left and right between apps. You can also disable these gestures if you are triggering them inadvertently.

A new feature in Pages is the ability to export into Rich Text Format. This kind of file can be opened and edited by almost any text editor or word processor. You can use RTF to move a document from Pages to TextEdit, or to send to someone when you are not sure what kind of word processor they are using.

It is important to understand that just because you have a great Wi-Fi signal, it doesn't mean that your Internet speed will be fast. Wi-Fi signal only tells you about the connection between your device and the local Wi-Fi-router. But that router's connection to the Internet is what really determines your speed.

A new feature of Keynote allows you to easily embed your finished presentation as a piece of interactive media in blog posts. This works in the popular platforms WordPress.com and Medium.com, as well as possibly others.