As someone who has been helping people with their Macs for a long time, I see lots of things people do with their Macs that if they stopped it would solve a lot of problems. Learn from my past experience and years of teaching to prevent current and future problems.
You can also watch this video at YouTube.
You can also watch this video at YouTube.
Video Transcript
Hi this is Gary with MacMost.com. Here are eight things that you should stop doing with your Mac.
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So I've been using Macs for more than 30 years and helping people with their Macs for more than twelve. Often when someone is having a problem it's because they're practicing a technique or doing something that they really should stop doing. So, for instance, I hear about people having a lot of trouble using printers. They're using cheap inkjet printers. I hate inkjet printers. I find that they only really work well when you first get them using the original ink. If you stop using them for a little while the ink kind of dries up and doesn't work quite right anymore. You try to save some money on ink and not get the manufacturer's ink. The colors don't look great anymore. I find that they breakdown easily. They're just all sorts of trouble.
I'm a big believer in a paperless office and try to print as little as possible. If I need to print I use a laser printer. Laser printers used to be very expensive and some people still think of them as such. But in fact they're pretty cheap now. For a $100 or $200 you can get a black and white laser printer which is probably what most people need to just print out simple documents. But for about $200 you can get a color laser printer as well. Instead of buying ink you buy toner and toner is much more consistent. Laser printers just don't seem to breakdown as often. I've been using the one I have for years and I'll go months without using it. When I start it up and print something out it looks just as good as the first day I got it.
So my main tip is to try and printout less. If you carry an iPhone with you then put documents on your iPhone or access them by iCloud instead of carrying around a printed copy of it. If you must use printouts think about getting a laser printer even if you spend a little more money up front it will pay for itself in less frustration in years to come.
Probably one of the most major categories I get asked questions about is email. Email problems often come down to email provider, not the mail app on your Mac or iPhone or iPad. Email is really all about the server and which server you're using. If you're using ISP email, that's the free email you get from AT&T, Verizon, Comcast, whoever your ISP is that's like the bottom of the barrel. There are all sorts of problems with ISP email not to mention the fact that if you move and you have a new service you won't be able to take your email address with your.
Instead go with a big online email provider. The only two that I can really recommend are Apple's email service, iCloud or use Goggle's gmail. Both of these work great. They cut down on the amount of spam you'll get. They are portable to wherever you move to. They use all the modern email techniques so that things should work a lot smoother.
I often get asked questions about Bookmarks. Usually they involve somebody that has hundreds or thousands of saved bookmarks. Stop using Bookmarks so much. Basically bookmarks are great if there's a website you need to go to really often or maybe not so often like maybe once a month to pay a bill. But don't use bookmarks for a site that you won't be going back to consistently. If it's just an article that you want to read later use the Reading List built into Safari. That way you can go back to it, read it later, and then it goes away. It's not stored permanently cluttering up your bookmarks.
Bookmarks are also handy for security. You could bookmark, say, a banking site and know by using that bookmark you're going to a real site, not some fake site that an email may include. So you should leave your bookmarks as clear as possible having less than a hundred bookmarks as being ideal. Use your Reading List for other things and also trust yourself that you could find something interesting later on. If you see a page that's kind of interesting, but you're not sure you may go back to it don't bookmark it. Trust yourself that later on you could do a similar search and find the same page.
Now a lot of people don't want to pay Apple a monthly price for iCloud. But those same people, sometimes, ask me questions about how to do something which iCloud is perfect for. iCloud is great to be able to share your files across devices. It's great for having all your photos, every photo you've ever taken, in your pocket on your iPhone or have new pictures you've taken on your iPhone instantly get to your Photos Library without having to sync and transfer things.
Most people can get by with the 99 cent per month iCloud Plan. Even I use only the $3.00 per month plan which gives you a ton of data. You pay a premium to use Apple products. You could have a very cheap windows computer, super cheap android tablet and a free android phone if you really want it. But we all pay a premium to use Apple products because they work really well. Then why miss out on some of the best features just because you don't want to pay 99 cents per month.
This one is really specific and I've done videos on this before. Stop shutting down your Mac. A typical Mac should never be shut down. You should just put it to sleep or let it go to sleep on its own. When you do this while it's sleeping it performs maintenance tasks. If you don't let it sleep, instead shut it down as soon as you're done using it and start it up when you want to start using it again then it's going to try to perform those maintenance tasks while you're working. Slowing you down. Sometimes they can really build up. Things like backups, Spotlight indexing and such can really take up a lot of processor time but they won't bother you if you just let your Mac sleep so it can do this maintenance.
So I also find a lot of fear of updating your Mac. Updating to the next minor version or the next major version of the operating system. I understand this fear. In general people don't like change. You know how to use everything on your Mac now and when you update things change a little bit. But to get the most out of your Mac I think you really need to embrace change. You need to upgrade to the latest operating system. Learn what has changed. Use the new features to be able to use your Mac to its fullest. After all, you've paid for your Mac which includes all these upgrades. So if you're not upgrading to the latest operating system you're not getting your money's worth out of your Mac.
Now we all know we should backup, right. But a lot of people procrastinate when setting up a backup. You get your Mac. You think, well I will maybe next month get an external drive and start backing up with Time Machine. Then you wait and wait and wait. Don't procrastinate. If you do not have a Time Machine backup going now order a hard drive today. Just get a standard USB 3 hard drive. It doesn't have to be super fast. Hook it up to your Mac and start a Time Machine backup. Don't do anything less than a default backup. I know people that only backup their Mac like once a week or once a month. That's a really bad idea. I mean you do once a month and something goes wrong with your Mac you could be one, two, three weeks behind on all of your data which could be a big disaster. Just use it as it's supposed to be used. Keep it plugged in. Let it do its backup every hour. Hourly backups barely take anytime because usually not much has changed over the period of an hour. Now if you have a MacBook and you can't keep it plugged in all the time just get into a regular routine. Have it plugged in every night, for instance. Or use a network drive so it's automatically doing the backups when your home connected to WiFi. At the very least, if you're using a MacBook, consider storing all your files in a service. Either iCloud DropBox or something else because then, at least, if something happens to your Mac and you haven't been doing regular backups you're probably have all your files still available to you on the Cloud. You won't lose everything.
This last one is kind of tricky. Basically, the thing is I see people who have a problem with their Mac. Don't assume when you have a problem that that's how it's supposed to work. Instead investigate it. Try to find out if there is a better way to do it. Maybe find out if it's supposed to work this way at all. If not try to fix the problem or get some help. This is very common and I think a lot of us, maybe myself included, fall into this trap. Assume that they can't do something because it just doesn't work that way when in fact you just need to solve the problem.
One example maybe thinking that you can't sort files in the Finder or music in the Music app. But you just need to figure out that you need to click on the top of the column to Sort By that column. Another example might a system preference that you set when you weren't using that feature much. Now that you are you find that it's not working the way it does for everybody else. You just need to learn more about it and figure out that there's a system preference for that and change that back. Now you can use that feature.
I guess the general tip here is question everything. If something isn't working right or if something doesn't work like you think it should then don't assume that's just because it's the way it is. Try to solve the problem and see if you can get it working the way you want. So please take these suggestions to heart. My goal here is to help improve everybody's experience and help you get the most from your Mac.
Gary, with iCloud for everything does one really need to backup?
Hi Gary, Can you tell us the printer you use? I'm looking for a reliable laser printer that will last for years like yours.
Jane: It is less critical, since you do have a safety net if someone steals your Mac or it breaks. But it is better to backup with Time Machine as well as this will protect you incrementally and from disastrous mistakes. So if you make a change to a file and want to revert to the one from last week, you can. Or, if you delete a file, you can find it in your backup. I wouldn't go without a backup myself.
Hi again Gary, I agree with your advice about not shutting down your Mac, but I would add a little caveat, which is that you should ALWAYS have a voltage regulator between your Mac and the wall plug. They aren't very expensive (about $30) and it will save wear and tear on your Mac's life from extended brown-outs and surges that can cause system gremlins. Surge-suppressors are NOT sufficient for stopping these.
Rocky: The one I have is so reliable that it is old now, and not produced anymore, but still works great. It is an HP LaserJet 100 M175nw. But there are current ones in the LaserJet 200 model line you can look at.
Great tips all. One other tidbit related to the last point about things not working correctly, Apple Support is really good about helping even if your AppleCare has expired on your hardware. If you have been keeping your system updated, per Gary's recommendation, Apple Support will generally help you with problems that have crept in because of the new version of the OS.
Backup, backup, and keep backing up. You are so right about backup. I have been doing Mac support for over 20 years. It is always the person that has no backup that runs into the problem. I have gone to suggesting that they keep on off site TM that they update at least once a month. To me you can never have enough backups.
Great info. and super suggestions. Thanks Gary
Great post and all very helpful. The other thing I would say about Time Machine is that it takes on board all your programs (not just your files) so that when you change your laptop or MacBook, Time Machine transfers everything over to the new device including, of course, all your settings.
Jane — Remember that not everything is backed up to iCloud. Your iTunes library, Movies folder and Downloads folder, for example, are not included.
HELLO Gery , TI SEGUO DA POCO E SONO UN UTENTE APPLE DA UN ANNO. QUINDI DATO CHE HO MOLTO DA IMPARE, TI CHIEDO SEV POTRESTI ELENCARMI LE 8 COSE DA NON FARE COME UTENTE NEL UTILIZZARE IL MAC.SEGUO I TOI VIDEO, MA IL MIO INGLESE NON E TANTO FLORIDO. QUINDI FACCIO UN PO DI FATICA.
I have a new iMac with Catalina (old 2015 model a dud) . Shutting down each day means a much quicker start-up the next morning than putting the computer to sleep. I also have stability issues with exporting photos from Photos to a desktop file - I can't export and get error messages after the computer sleeps that is resolved by re-starting the machine. Presumably these will be resolved in a future update of Catalina (taken it up with Apple Support) - so for now I am shutting down each night.
Dave: Shutting down should in no way be faster than sleep. Waking from sleep should take seconds. Even if you need to restart to fix an issue, just restart, don't shut it down. Let it sleep for the reasons I state in the video.
re backups . i have an external 2 tb drive connected to my 2017 imac. should i use time machine to back up to this drive. i keep my photos library on it. i back up once a month but not anymore after taking your advice.Just need to set it up the most efficient way. thanks
mike: Do NOT use a Time Machine drive for anything else except Time Machine. For one, that means the stuff on the other part of the drive won't be backed up. Get a new drive, one much larger than your internet and external together. Make that your Time Machine drive.
I'm confused by Gary's last msg re Time Machine. I have a 2TB LaCie External drive dedicated to Time Machine. When you say "stuff on the other PART of the drive won't be backed up", what are you referring to? I do note that LaCie has two icons on my computer: Lacie Share and LaCie. I also have separate external drive which I use for backing up photos, iMovie projects primarily (things I don't want to lose ever).
Elaine: Thanks for the question as a lot of people don't understand this important part. If you have one external drive with two partitions, A and B. On A you store stuff (photos, whatever). On B you have your Time Machine backup. They are on the SAME DRIVE. So even if Time Machine creates a second copy of the files on A in the backup on B, there is still a single point of failure. That drive breaks or is stolen or lost, and your original AND backup are gone.
Call me obsessive but I actually have two Time Machine drives connected with my iMac in case one of them fails. As you say the cost of these drives is small and there are enough USB ports at the back of my screen to accommodate what I need.
I decided to use Google Photos to back up my ipad and iphone, primarily to save space. Wife and have 8,000 plus photo now i don't know how to ensure all were copied and the delete Photo app. YOUR SUGGESTIONS PLEASE
Gary I agree with you on using laser over inkjet except...I went through half a dozen inkjets until someone told me to NEVER use unbranded refills, so I didn't. Since then I have had an Epson inkjet, paying for genuine ink refills and no problems for 7 or 8 years. When this one dies I'll get a laser but until then, the genuine refills seem to do the trick.
hwhuyler: I'm not a Google Photos user, so I can't help too much. Why not just archive them to an external drive (a good idea to do periodically anyway) and then you know you have them there if all else fails. Plus your normal Time Machine backup too.
re: speed up loading from start on MacBook air and Mac 21" desktop. The UPLOAD bar always starts when I start my Macs but my Dell PC loads to basic screen immediately.. Is this the way Mac always loads at start up?
hwhuyler: You see a progress bar, yes. Maybe your Dell is sleeping/hibernating instead of shutting down?
backing up right now, thanks for the reminder!
Totally agree Gary with laser instead of inkjet. My Epson’s clogged (don’t use the colour enough), my Samsung printer (now handled by HP) had been excellent for 5 years. Didn’t work though with Catalina so bought new HP laser (4 in One) and works great. Model HP LaserJet Pro MFP M130fw at a price of AUD 299 (USD 184), discounted to AUD 224 (USD 153) for being a Samsung user before. On top of a great output, the HP has s small foot print as well.
Hi Gary,good stuff and i would like to add another one.I teach many people how to use iMac,MacBooks and iPads,iPhones . I have seen screens fullly taken up with shortcuts making it very difficult to find the right one to use. I show them how to crelate folders or use stacks but a few weeks later it is a mess again they are generally ex PC users
Re printers clogging up: print at least one page every day (a page that uses a lot of different colours). I rarely have any problems with ink drying up in the printer. Or do print head cleaning regularly.
Gary, how many email addresses does iCloud allow you to have? Gmail? Is it bad to use your full name, or any part of your name, in your email address? My current ISP stopped handing out email addresses with new accounts and is not allowing current customers to add any new ones, they allowed up to five, but still support current ones.
Karl: You can only have one iCloud email address, but 3 aliases with that (https://macmost.com/creating-icloud-email-aliases.html). You can create as many Gmail accounts as you like, but those are separate accounts. I suppose you can create more iCloud accounts too. But both could be problematic as you do things like make purchases or sign up for services with those accounts. Best to stick with one. Why do you want to have more than one?
Some people suggest it is bad security-wise to use your name. But I think that is mostly because of phishing concerns. If your email is firstnamelastname@example.com then it is easy for some stranger to email you and pretend to know you since they can call you by your name. But it is also easy for you to see around that. On the other hand I think it looks more professional to use your name.
I appreciate your point of view re: LaserJet printers. I just retired an HP PhotoSmart C6280—still in working order—that I bought in 2008. I always used OEM ink and paper. Also: I’d like your thoughts on printing photos with a LaserJet. Inkjet printers have always been first choice for photos, it seems. I’m totally with you on limiting the printing of documents. I print very few documents—mostly photos.
Lucas: I don't do much printing of photos, but when I have to, my color LaserJet works fine. I suppose if I needed to do more than a few, I would use an online service or just send online to the local pharmacy and pick them up.
Gary (or anyone else): Are you able to respond to Rocky's comment above (4th post), about using a voltage regulator, please? At our house the lights dim occasionally then go back to normal, and I have wondered if this power fluctuation could affect my Mac desktop. I have a surge protector on it but nothing else. Thanks.
Jane: A UPS (Uninterruptible Power Supply) with a voltage regular sounds like a good idea for you. Mainly, it will protect you if there is a power outage. But it may also help reduce the strain on the iMac's power supply. But then what about your other electronics? Might be worth it to have an electrician check out your electric box.
My experience with a UPS (equivalent to a high-end battery) : It muted any voltage spikes headed into my business's computer as it kept itself well-charged. The UPS was plugged into the wall and computers into the UPS, a win-win-win. it paid its way more than I could count before I retired to laptops.