Posts By: Gary Rosenzweig

You can use the Google app to perform voice searches that return similar results to using Siri. Google voice searches can often be faster because your voice is interpreted on the phone, rather than being processed by a remote server. But Google voice search isn't integrated with iOS like Siri, so using both is your best option.

The quick Command+Option+Esc keyboard shortcut gives you access to a list of running apps and lets you force-quit the if necessary. You can force-quit several apps as well, or use this as a quick app switcher. There are also other ways to force-quit apps, though in normal use you should always try to quit an app normally.

You can choose from a list of equalizer presets in iOS to adjust how you hear music from your Music app on your iPhone, iPad or iPod touch. The best way to use it is to play some music and try different settings. The Late Night setting is a little different as it applies to video as well. You can use iTunes on your desktop computer to get an idea about what each preset is doing.

The special All My Views view in the Finder gives you access to all of your user files in one list. You can arrange these to group them by application, size or date. You can also sort inside the groups and search to narrow down the list.

You can use a Google Calendar on Mac or your iOS device just as easily as you can use an iCloud calendar. There is no need to 'sync' between them as using one or the other is all that is needed. Google Calendars can be shared between your Mac, iOS, Android and Windows devices.

The OS X Finder offers simple options to compress video and audio files. You can use this to quickly re-compress these files before archiving them or sending them to others. These simple functions only work with some file types and offer limited options.

There are a variety of ways to export a photo from iPhoto. Using the File, Export function you can decide which file format to use and set the quality and size. Learn how to use the various options and see a comparison between image quality settings.

Rulers and guides can be found in page layout and graphics apps. You can use them to precisely align objects on a page. Learning to use rulers and guides can make it easier and quicker to create professional designs. You can use them in apps like Pages, Keynote, Pixelmator, Photoshop and more.