Once you see that panel slide out, click the “Edit” button at the very bottom. Then click the plus button next to “Social” to add it to your Notification Center list. Forever after, you can tweet, post to Facebook or LinkedIn, or send messages by opening the Notification Center panel and then clicking the icon…
Apple Adds Smart, Interoperable Features to macOS Sierra
Ever since the release of OS X El Capitan, there was some mild concern in the Apple community. If El Capitan was a bug fix and stability release, would Apple revert to its old ways, in the next release, and return the the evils of a massive set of questionable features that would introduce new…
Microsoft Goes Social with $26.2B LinkedIn Purchase
LinkedIn joins team Microsoft The boards of both companies unanimously approved the deal which is expected to wrap up later this year. Mr. Nadella said, The LinkedIn team has grown a fantastic business centered on connecting the world's professionals. Together we can accelerate the growth of LinkedIn, as well as Microsoft Office 365 and Dynamics…
Security Basics: If a Service Offers Two-Factor Authentication, Use It
Apple Two-Factor Authentication Two factor authentication at its most basic means that logging requires two forms of verification (it's also sometimes referred to as two-factor verification). It's the digital equivalent of needing, say, your birth certificate and a driver's license to get a passport. Basic Two-Factor Authentication Early two-factor authentication usually meant having to click…
Manhattan DA Still Wants to Kill iPhone Encryption
Manhattan DA calls for Federal smartphone encryption backdoor mandate Mr. Vance said that by choosing to encrypt our smartphone data, Apple and Google have been “engineering themselves out of criminal investigations,” according to Fortune. The consequence, he said, is that criminals can act without fear of repercussion. He said, In my office alone, we now…
OtterBox Hybrid Case For iPad Pro 12.9: Folio & Drop Protection With a Slender Design
The Apple iPad Pro 12.9 is a large piece of iPad hardware, larger than we've been accustomed to in the past. A good case for it has to meet many expectations. It has to protect, yet be light. It has to accomodate all the iPad Pro technology, including the Apple Pencil. It has to be…
OtterBox Hybrid Case For iPad Pro 12.9: Folio & Drop Protection With a Slender Design
The Apple iPad Pro 12.9 is a large piece of iPad hardware, larger than we've been accustomed to in the past. A good case for it has to meet many expectations. It has to protect, yet be light. It has to accomodate all the iPad Pro technology, including the Apple Pencil. It has to be…
OtterBox Hybrid Case For iPad Pro 12.9: Folio & Drop Protection With a Slender Design
The Apple iPad Pro 12.9 is a large piece of iPad hardware, larger than we've been accustomed to in the past. A good case for it has to meet many expectations. It has to protect, yet be light. It has to accomodate all the iPad Pro technology, including the Apple Pencil. It has to be…
OS X: Pasting Text into Emails, Much Faster
What you’ll do is select the text you’d like to email (or send through Messages, or tweet about, or add to Notes, etc.) and then right- or Control-click on it. When you do so, a contextual menu will appear, and one of the available options is “Share.” If you hover over that, you’ll see your…
OS X: Single or Double-click in Dock to Change Spaces
Mission Control Previously, I've written about a nice keyboard shortcut to manually change OS X Spaces quickly. That's optional, but a good tip as well. Also, if you're rusty on OS X Spaces, here's a tutorial. Even though I use a large Hewlett-Packard display, I still don't have enough room to display all the apps…
Troubleshooting Spotlight Issues
Episode #178 I planned to write about some smart home products I’ve been testing, but a confluence of events convinced me to change courses midstream. So I’m going to write about troubleshooting Spotlight this week, since that’s what I’ve been doing all morning. It all began because I knew I wrote a column about Phillips…
OS X: Flashing the Screen for Alerts
Press that “Test Screen Flash” button to see what it’ll look like, but after you toggle on the “Flash the screen when an alert sound occurs” checkbox, that’s what’ll happen from then on. So whenever your Mac needs to let you know something’s going on, you’ll see a visual cue along with the audio one.…
OS X: Sending Your Whole Contacts List as a File
You could actually cobble together a way to share contacts if you’ve got to—for example, by creating an additional iCloud or Gmail account. You’d then log in to that on your family’s devices, turn the contacts syncing on, and add the contacts you want to share to that account. But that’s not an elegant solution…
It's Safe to Download iOS 9.3.2 for iPad Pro (9.7-inch) Now
Apple posted a KnowledgeBase article with several sets of instructions and the following images for those encountering errors: Turn off your device for 10 seconds. | Disconnect your device for 10 seconds. The instructions for installing the update OTA: Update wirelessly or over the air Try to update your iPad. If you see one of…
Apple 5K Thunderbolt Display: Rumor and Speculation aren't Facts
When is the Thunderbolt display getting a refresh? Who knows? MacRumors noted Thunderbolt displays are in short supply and Apple's retail stores aren't getting inventory replenishment. That, coupled with the Worldwide Developer Conference keynote set for June 13, is typically a good sign product refreshes are on the way. Follow that up with John Gruber…
OS X and iOS: Stop the Annoying "Available Networks" Pop-Ups
If you’ve got the same setting on for your Mac, it’ll do this as well if you’re not around any network you’ve previously joined: So to stop this and get rid of those annoying pop-ups, you’ll visit Settings > Wi-Fi on your iPhone or iPad and then toggle off “Ask to Join Networks.” On your…
2013 Mac Pro Freezes Continue - Owners Have Little Recourse - Apple is Helpless
____________________________ The Problem The most often reported symptom is a lockup of the Mac Pro with a spinning beach ball. Audio often continues uninterrupted. The user is unable to recover control of the Mac Pro by any keyboard action, and holding down the power button until the Mac shuts down is necessary. Upon power up,…
Tools for Writers: Ulysses
Episode #177 I’ve been typing stories on a Mac since before at least some of you were born and I have a confession: I hate word processors. I’ll explain in a moment, but first, a bit of backstory… I composed my earliest columns and books using Microsoft Word version 1.0. Since then, I’ve used one…
The Pros and Cons of a Proprietary Apple Car Charger
That topic has been well-discussed, but it got me wondering if there should be a standard for car chargers, either voluntary or mandated. This is pertinent because Apple has a penchant for developing proprietary technologies—think Lightning or the 30-Pin Dock—but I have mixed feelings about Apple taking that approach for car charging. If you listened…
VirnetX Wants to Shut Down FaceTime, but it Won't Happen
VirnetX wants to shut down FaceTime and Messages in its patent fight with Apple VirnetX argued during a post trial hearing earlier this week that it's suffering irreparable harm as long as FaceTime and iMessage are allowed to function, and that both should be shut down while Apple appeals the infringement ruling. Apple is appealing…
It Could Happen - Universally Autonomous Cars Could Fail in the Marketplace
There's been a lot of discussion lately about autonomous car technology. We've seen a lot of testing going on, and there's a certain amount of buzz about the technology because it just seems so cool. See: “Self-driving Chevy Bolt arrives in San Francisco.” However, there are many questions to be asked and cultural issues that…
Support for Anti-encryption Laws Crumbles
Support for anti-encryption bill fizzles out Word of the draft bill surfaced in March, and quickly drew concern. The wording was vague and would've given Federal judges the authority to force companies to create tools to aid law enforcement with breaking through the smartphones, computers, and other tech devices they make and sell. The draft…
The Display You've Always Wanted For Your Mac: HP Z34c
1. Introduction Regular readers here know that I have been on a crusade for the ultimate (or at least an excellent) display for my 2013 Mac Pro. My quest started when I left my 2010 27-inch iMac behind. The new Mac Pro acquired in the summer of 2014 needed a proper display or pair of…
iCloud: Restoring Bookmarks from Backup
Once those load, scroll to the very bottom of the page, which is where you’ll find all of your restoring options. If you click the “Restore Bookmarks” one, you’ll see the archives available for recovery. You’ll really want to pay attention to the caveats it gives you, too (note that this will replace ALL of…