Posts By: Gary Rosenzweig

Want to know all of the technical details about the model of Mac you are using? In macOS Sierra, go to the Apple menu and choose About This Mac. Then go to the Support tab. Then click on Specifications. This will take you to a webpage with all of the details about your model.

It is easy to create a slideshow with iMovie using a photo album. In less than three minutes you can import the photos, add transitions, insert titles, and include music. You can then export the slideshow as a video to use on YouTube, your social networks, or show during a presentation.

Look at two methods for making your Mac folders stand out. You can easily add emoji characters to folder names to give them some color and symbolism. You can also easily change the folder icon to any image, including readily-available icons from the web.

With Siri in macOS Sierra, you can set the volume to a very exact amount. Just tell Siri: “Set the volume to 57 percent” and she will set it to exactly that.

On iPhones that support 3D Touch, you can quickly access camera functions and also preview and access photo functions. To get to the Camera functions, tap hard on the Camera icon. To get to the Photos functions, tap hard on a photo and swipe up.

A small but useful new feature in macOS Sierra will automatically delete items in your Trash that have been there for more than 30 days. This could be useful for most Mac users, especially if you often run out of drive space. It can also help those who maintain Macs for others.

You can quickly and easily create compressed disk images from folders to archive projects. The resulting disk image saves space, reduces clutter and hides the files from searches. You can also encrypt the disk images to secure the files.

If you have been taking Live Photos with your iPhone, you may find it useful to be able to extract the 3-second videos from the photos to upload to social media or use in video collages.

Learn how to manipulate the text cursor on your iPhone and iPad easily by using the virtual on-screen keyboard as a trackpad. Using 3D Touch on your iPhone or two fingers on your iPad you can move the cursor or make a selection.

If you minimize windows often by clicking the yellow button at the top left corner of a window, you could end up with a lot of minimized windows listed on the right side of your Dock. Instead of having them all listed there, you can turn on the “Minimize window into application icon” option in System Preferences, Dock. You can still access these minimized windows by Control+clicking on the app in the Dock and selecting the window name.

With a simple change to how you type your search terms, you can target one website instead of the entire Internet. This is handy when you know the result you want is in a specific place.

Split View is an underused viewing mode where you have exactly two apps on your Mac's screen at once. It is similar to Full Screen mode and works in conjunction with Mission Control.

You can use the Add To iCloud Drive option in iOS Photos to essentially export a photo as a file. You can access it in the iCloud Drive app, or on your Mac in the Finder. You can even filter or markup the picture before exporting.

A new Filter button in the email app allows you to quickly and easily filter your email in the mailbox you are viewing. You can change the filter criteria.

With the Photos app in macOS Sierra you can markup your photos with shapes, text and drawings without leaving the app. You can use this to add to your photos before sharing them. You can revert back to your original at any time.

With Sierra and watchOS 3 you can set up your Mac so it unlocks automatically for you while you are wearing your Apple Watch.

If you ever see a window with no Close button at the upper left, but a Cancel button somewhere at the bottom, you can also close it by pressing the Esc key on your keyboard. Examples are: Print dialogs and Open dialogs. But Esc also works in some other places even when there is a close button, like the Preferences or About windows in apps.

A new feature in Keynote in Sierra and in iOS is the ability to share a live feed of your Keynote presentation to other devices as you present. You can share with others in the room, or in other locations.

A new feature for Apple Music subscribers is the ability to view lyrics for most songs. You can view them in iTunes in Sierra while the song is playing, or in the Music app in iOS 10.

A new Accessibility function in iOS 10 allows you to use your iPhone as a high-tech magnifying glass. You can focus, zoom, turn on the LED light, use special light filters and even freeze the image.