It’s tempting to think that most external storage devices—whether simple hard drives or more complicated network-attached storage (NAS) units—are relatively similar because they all do roughly the same thing. However, a recent problem with older Western Digital My Book Live NAS devices highlighted that there can be large differences. In that case, hackers figured out […]
https://maclifeboise.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/two-important-tips-for-external-storage-devices.jpg8001280MLWPadminNEW2https://maclifeboise.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/MacLife-Logo-Finals-copy-3-300x187.pngMLWPadminNEW22021-07-01 12:07:022021-07-02 09:50:54Two Important Tips for External Storage Devices
With mask wearing over the past year rendering Face ID ineffective at cash registers, we’ve become fond of using the Apple Watch for contactless payments with Apple Pay. We recommend it highly since it’s so fast and convenient. Once you’ve set up a credit card in the Wallet app on your iPhone, switch to the […]
https://maclifeboise.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/live-in-the-future-by-using-apple-pay-on-your-apple-watch.jpg8001280MLWPadminNEW2https://maclifeboise.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/MacLife-Logo-Finals-copy-3-300x187.pngMLWPadminNEW22021-07-01 12:06:322021-07-02 09:50:42Live in the Future by Using Apple Pay on Your Apple Watch
Many security breaches—even high-profile ones—stem from simple oversight. There’s one spot in macOS that has long been particularly susceptible to such lapse: the Sharing pane of System Preferences. In it, you can enable a wide variety of sharing services, some of which could allow another user to access your Mac remotely. They all let you […]
https://maclifeboise.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/disable-unused-sharing-options-on-your-mac-if-youre-not-using-them.jpg8001280MLWPadminNEW2https://maclifeboise.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/MacLife-Logo-Finals-copy-3-300x187.pngMLWPadminNEW22021-07-01 12:05:532021-07-02 09:50:31Disable Unused Sharing Options on Your Mac If You’re Not Using Them
As vaccination rates climb, many businesses are starting to think about reopening their offices and bringing back employees who have been working from home for the last year. That’s a big decision that will undoubtedly vary from company to company, but we’d like to suggest a few things to consider. Please contact us early in […]
https://maclifeboise.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/reopening-your-office-nows-a-great-time-to-evaluate-your-it-infrastructure.jpg8001280MLWPadminNEW2https://maclifeboise.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/MacLife-Logo-Finals-copy-3-300x187.pngMLWPadminNEW22021-07-01 12:04:372021-07-02 09:50:18Reopening Your Office? Now’s a Great Time to Evaluate Your IT Infrastructure
For many people, increasing vaccination rates mean that long-delayed vacations are now possible, and in-person conferences are slowly starting up again too. But before you head out for the beach or the convention center, you’ll want to write an out-of-office email auto-reply message to send to everyone who tries to get in touch while you’re […]
https://maclifeboise.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/going-on-vacation-learn-how-to-write-an-effective-out-of-office-message.jpg8001280MLWPadminNEW2https://maclifeboise.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/MacLife-Logo-Finals-copy-3-300x187.pngMLWPadminNEW22021-07-01 12:03:072021-07-02 09:50:04Going on Vacation? Learn How to Write an Effective Out-of-Office Message
As climate change continues to wreak havoc on our weather, many areas are seeing record temperatures this summer—Seattle just recorded its hottest days ever. You may be able to trade your business suit for shorts or skirts to stay more comfortable, but your electronic gear can’t do the same. Keeping your tech cool is about […]
https://maclifeboise.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/dont-cook-your-digital-devices-in-the-summer-heat.jpg8001280MLWPadminNEW2https://maclifeboise.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/MacLife-Logo-Finals-copy-3-300x187.pngMLWPadminNEW22021-07-01 12:02:492021-07-02 09:49:49Don’t Cook Your Digital Devices in the Summer Heat
Complaining about getting too much email is like complaining about bad traffic—we brought it upon ourselves, and while it’s impossible to escape entirely, it’s worth knowing how to reduce it. Apple is fully cognizant of the issue, too, and has built features into the last couple versions of Mail—on the Mac, iPhone, and iPad—to help […]
https://maclifeboise.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/reduce-your-email-load-with-three-features-in-apples-mail-mute-block-and-unsubscribe.jpg8001280MLWPadminNEW2https://maclifeboise.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/MacLife-Logo-Finals-copy-3-300x187.pngMLWPadminNEW22021-07-01 12:01:402021-07-02 09:49:31Reduce Your Email Load with Three Features in Apple’s Mail: Mute, Block, and Unsubscribe
At its Worldwide Developer Conference keynote on June 7th, Apple shared details about what we can expect to see later this year in macOS 12 Monterey, iOS 15, iPadOS 15, watchOS 8, tvOS 15, and HomePod Software 15. It was a firehose of announcements, but one thing became clear: Apple wants to spread its technologies […]
https://maclifeboise.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/the-ten-upcoming-mac-iphone-ipad-features-we-think-youll-most-like.jpg8001280MLWPadminNEW2https://maclifeboise.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/MacLife-Logo-Finals-copy-3-300x187.pngMLWPadminNEW22021-06-08 15:32:162021-06-09 13:26:56The Ten Upcoming Mac/iPhone/iPad Features We Think You’ll Most Like
A new feature of Messages in both iOS 14 and macOS 11 Big Sur is the option to pin up to nine conversations at the top of the conversation list for easy access. No longer do you have to worry about them scrolling out of sight. On an iPhone or iPad, touch and hold a […]
https://maclifeboise.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/pin-your-chats-in-messages-for-faster-access.jpg8001280MLWPadminNEW2https://maclifeboise.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/MacLife-Logo-Finals-copy-3-300x187.pngMLWPadminNEW22021-06-01 15:08:542021-06-03 10:30:32Pin Your Chats in Messages for Faster Access
Although extremely uncommon, it’s not unheard of for a Mac, particularly an older model, to restart unexpectedly. If it happens once, chalk it up to cosmic rays and move on. But if it happens multiple times, try these two things right off. First, use compressed air to remove dust from cooling vents or the inside […]
https://maclifeboise.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/two-tricks-for-fixing-a-mac-thats-restarting-unexpectedly.jpg8001280MLWPadminNEW2https://maclifeboise.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/MacLife-Logo-Finals-copy-3-300x187.pngMLWPadminNEW22021-06-01 15:07:022021-06-03 10:30:19Two Tricks for Fixing a Mac That’s Restarting Unexpectedly
Home screen widgets are one of the coolest features of iOS 14. They enable apps to offer quick access to features or at-a-glance previews of changing information, such as the Weather app’s widget providing a quick look at upcoming weather. What you may not realize, however, is that an app’s widgets become available for adding […]
https://maclifeboise.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/looking-for-more-ios-14-widgets-be-sure-to-launch-seldom-used-apps.jpg8001280MLWPadminNEW2https://maclifeboise.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/MacLife-Logo-Finals-copy-3-300x187.pngMLWPadminNEW22021-06-01 15:06:222021-06-03 10:30:03Looking for More iOS 14 Widgets? Be Sure to Launch Seldom-Used Apps
Apple did a good job rethinking some aspects of credit card use with the Apple Card, but one omission was the inability to share it with other family members. With the new Apple Card Family, once everyone has upgraded to iOS 14.6, you can add members of your Family Sharing group to your Apple Card […]
https://maclifeboise.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/share-your-apple-card-with-people-in-your-family-sharing-group.jpg8001280MLWPadminNEW2https://maclifeboise.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/MacLife-Logo-Finals-copy-3-300x187.pngMLWPadminNEW22021-06-01 15:05:192021-06-03 10:29:55Share Your Apple Card with People in Your Family Sharing Group
You’ve likely seen mention of the dispute between Apple and Facebook. It revolves around App Tracking Transparency (ATT), a technology Apple released in iOS 14.5. The goal of ATT is to give iPhone and iPad users more control over the extent to which app makers can track their data and activities across apps and websites […]
https://maclifeboise.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/what-is-this-app-tracking-transparency-apple-added-to-ios-14-5.jpg8001280MLWPadminNEW2https://maclifeboise.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/MacLife-Logo-Finals-copy-3-300x187.pngMLWPadminNEW22021-06-01 15:04:542021-06-03 10:29:42What Is This “App Tracking Transparency” Apple Added to iOS 14.5?
Apple’s new AirTag tracking device is an amazing bit of technology—it’s an elegant disc about the size of a stack of four US quarters that communicates its location with other Apple devices using Bluetooth and Ultra Wideband. Pair an AirTag with your iPhone and put it in your laptop bag, and from then on, you […]
https://maclifeboise.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/airtag-basics-and-how-to-protect-yourself-from-stalking.png8001280MLWPadminNEW2https://maclifeboise.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/MacLife-Logo-Finals-copy-3-300x187.pngMLWPadminNEW22021-06-01 15:03:292021-06-03 10:29:21AirTag Basics and How to Protect Yourself from Stalking
People talk about “the cloud” all the time these days, but what do they really mean? There’s no agreed-on definition, which can render some conversations nearly inscrutable. We can’t pretend to have the final answer—if there will ever be such a thing—but here’s how we think of “the cloud.” (And now we’ll stop quoting it.) […]
https://maclifeboise.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/what-is-the-cloud.jpg8001280MLWPadminNEW2https://maclifeboise.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/MacLife-Logo-Finals-copy-3-300x187.pngMLWPadminNEW22021-06-01 15:02:422021-06-03 10:29:08What Is the Cloud?
Over the last decade, and particularly during the last year of pandemic life, documents have become more likely to arrive in email or as downloads than on paper. If you need to return a signed document on paper, it’s easy to print and sign it before popping it in the mailbox. But what if you […]
https://maclifeboise.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/how-to-digitize-your-signature-so-youre-ready-for-online-document-signing.jpg8001280MLWPadminNEW2https://maclifeboise.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/MacLife-Logo-Finals-copy-3-300x187.pngMLWPadminNEW22021-06-01 15:01:412021-06-03 10:28:52How to Digitize Your Signature So You’re Ready for Online Document Signing
So you’ve gotten your COVID-19 vaccination. Congratulations, and thank you for nudging the planet closer to the herd immunity needed for life to return to normal! It’s a good idea to take a photo of your card as a backup before filing it with your other important papers, just in case. (If you lose the […]
https://maclifeboise.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/privacy-tip-dont-post-vaccination-record-cards-on-social-media.jpg8001280MLWPadminNEW2https://maclifeboise.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/MacLife-Logo-Finals-copy-3-300x187.pngMLWPadminNEW22021-05-03 14:08:282021-05-04 09:47:20Privacy Tip: Don’t Post Vaccination Record Cards on Social Media
When you copy text from a Web page, PDF, or word processing document, macOS usually includes the associated formatting, so the words you paste may end up in 68-point blue italic if that was what the source text looked like. That’s often undesirable. More commonly, you want the text to take on the styling of […]
https://maclifeboise.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/learn-how-to-paste-text-so-its-style-matches-the-surrounding-text.jpg8001280MLWPadminNEW2https://maclifeboise.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/MacLife-Logo-Finals-copy-3-300x187.pngMLWPadminNEW22021-05-03 14:07:292021-05-04 09:49:24Learn How to Paste Text So Its Style Matches the Surrounding Text
If you’re using QuickBooks Online with the service’s Mac app to manage your business’s accounting, you may have seen a message like the one below announcing that Intuit has stopped updating the QuickBooks Online app. This doesn’t affect your QuickBooks Online account, which you can and should use via a Web browser at qbo.intuit.com now. […]
https://maclifeboise.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/intuit-has-stopped-updating-the-quickbooks-online-mac-app-switch-to-a-web-browser.jpg8001280MLWPadminNEW2https://maclifeboise.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/MacLife-Logo-Finals-copy-3-300x187.pngMLWPadminNEW22021-05-03 14:06:472021-05-04 09:49:08Intuit Has Stopped Updating the QuickBooks Online Mac App; Switch to a Web Browser
We’ve all gotten that panicked “Where are you?!?” text message at some point. Sometimes it’s an easy question to answer, but at other times, the answer is “Well, right here, wherever that is.” That’s unsatisfying, of course, but using Messages on your iPhone, you can do better. Tap the person’s name at the top of […]
https://maclifeboise.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/use-messages-to-share-your-current-location-quickly.jpg8001280MLWPadminNEW2https://maclifeboise.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/MacLife-Logo-Finals-copy-3-300x187.pngMLWPadminNEW22021-05-03 14:05:012021-05-04 09:48:55Use Messages to Share Your Current Location Quickly
Two Important Tips for External Storage Devices
/in Internet, iOS 10, iPhone, MacBook Pro, macOS 10.12 Sierra, OS X /by MLWPadminNEW2It’s tempting to think that most external storage devices—whether simple hard drives or more complicated network-attached storage (NAS) units—are relatively similar because they all do roughly the same thing. However, a recent problem with older Western Digital My Book Live NAS devices highlighted that there can be large differences. In that case, hackers figured out […]
Live in the Future by Using Apple Pay on Your Apple Watch
/in Internet, iOS 10, iPhone, MacBook Pro, macOS 10.12 Sierra, OS X /by MLWPadminNEW2With mask wearing over the past year rendering Face ID ineffective at cash registers, we’ve become fond of using the Apple Watch for contactless payments with Apple Pay. We recommend it highly since it’s so fast and convenient. Once you’ve set up a credit card in the Wallet app on your iPhone, switch to the […]
Disable Unused Sharing Options on Your Mac If You’re Not Using Them
/in Internet, iOS 10, iPhone, MacBook Pro, macOS 10.12 Sierra, OS X /by MLWPadminNEW2Many security breaches—even high-profile ones—stem from simple oversight. There’s one spot in macOS that has long been particularly susceptible to such lapse: the Sharing pane of System Preferences. In it, you can enable a wide variety of sharing services, some of which could allow another user to access your Mac remotely. They all let you […]
Reopening Your Office? Now’s a Great Time to Evaluate Your IT Infrastructure
/in Internet, iOS 10, iPhone, MacBook Pro, macOS 10.12 Sierra, OS X /by MLWPadminNEW2As vaccination rates climb, many businesses are starting to think about reopening their offices and bringing back employees who have been working from home for the last year. That’s a big decision that will undoubtedly vary from company to company, but we’d like to suggest a few things to consider. Please contact us early in […]
Going on Vacation? Learn How to Write an Effective Out-of-Office Message
/in Internet, iOS 10, iPhone, MacBook Pro, macOS 10.12 Sierra, OS X /by MLWPadminNEW2For many people, increasing vaccination rates mean that long-delayed vacations are now possible, and in-person conferences are slowly starting up again too. But before you head out for the beach or the convention center, you’ll want to write an out-of-office email auto-reply message to send to everyone who tries to get in touch while you’re […]
Don’t Cook Your Digital Devices in the Summer Heat
/in Internet, iOS 10, iPhone, MacBook Pro, macOS 10.12 Sierra, OS X /by MLWPadminNEW2As climate change continues to wreak havoc on our weather, many areas are seeing record temperatures this summer—Seattle just recorded its hottest days ever. You may be able to trade your business suit for shorts or skirts to stay more comfortable, but your electronic gear can’t do the same. Keeping your tech cool is about […]
Reduce Your Email Load with Three Features in Apple’s Mail: Mute, Block, and Unsubscribe
/in Internet, iOS 10, iPhone, MacBook Pro, macOS 10.12 Sierra, OS X /by MLWPadminNEW2Complaining about getting too much email is like complaining about bad traffic—we brought it upon ourselves, and while it’s impossible to escape entirely, it’s worth knowing how to reduce it. Apple is fully cognizant of the issue, too, and has built features into the last couple versions of Mail—on the Mac, iPhone, and iPad—to help […]
The Ten Upcoming Mac/iPhone/iPad Features We Think You’ll Most Like
/in Internet, iOS 10, iPhone, MacBook Pro, macOS 10.12 Sierra, OS X /by MLWPadminNEW2At its Worldwide Developer Conference keynote on June 7th, Apple shared details about what we can expect to see later this year in macOS 12 Monterey, iOS 15, iPadOS 15, watchOS 8, tvOS 15, and HomePod Software 15. It was a firehose of announcements, but one thing became clear: Apple wants to spread its technologies […]
Pin Your Chats in Messages for Faster Access
/in Internet, iOS 10, iPhone, MacBook Pro, macOS 10.12 Sierra, OS X /by MLWPadminNEW2A new feature of Messages in both iOS 14 and macOS 11 Big Sur is the option to pin up to nine conversations at the top of the conversation list for easy access. No longer do you have to worry about them scrolling out of sight. On an iPhone or iPad, touch and hold a […]
Two Tricks for Fixing a Mac That’s Restarting Unexpectedly
/in Internet, iOS 10, iPhone, MacBook Pro, macOS 10.12 Sierra, OS X /by MLWPadminNEW2Although extremely uncommon, it’s not unheard of for a Mac, particularly an older model, to restart unexpectedly. If it happens once, chalk it up to cosmic rays and move on. But if it happens multiple times, try these two things right off. First, use compressed air to remove dust from cooling vents or the inside […]
Looking for More iOS 14 Widgets? Be Sure to Launch Seldom-Used Apps
/in Internet, iOS 10, iPhone, MacBook Pro, macOS 10.12 Sierra, OS X /by MLWPadminNEW2Home screen widgets are one of the coolest features of iOS 14. They enable apps to offer quick access to features or at-a-glance previews of changing information, such as the Weather app’s widget providing a quick look at upcoming weather. What you may not realize, however, is that an app’s widgets become available for adding […]
Share Your Apple Card with People in Your Family Sharing Group
/in Internet, iOS 10, iPhone, MacBook Pro, macOS 10.12 Sierra, OS X /by MLWPadminNEW2Apple did a good job rethinking some aspects of credit card use with the Apple Card, but one omission was the inability to share it with other family members. With the new Apple Card Family, once everyone has upgraded to iOS 14.6, you can add members of your Family Sharing group to your Apple Card […]
What Is This “App Tracking Transparency” Apple Added to iOS 14.5?
/in Internet, iOS 10, iPhone, MacBook Pro, macOS 10.12 Sierra, OS X /by MLWPadminNEW2You’ve likely seen mention of the dispute between Apple and Facebook. It revolves around App Tracking Transparency (ATT), a technology Apple released in iOS 14.5. The goal of ATT is to give iPhone and iPad users more control over the extent to which app makers can track their data and activities across apps and websites […]
AirTag Basics and How to Protect Yourself from Stalking
/in Internet, iOS 10, iPhone, MacBook Pro, macOS 10.12 Sierra, OS X /by MLWPadminNEW2Apple’s new AirTag tracking device is an amazing bit of technology—it’s an elegant disc about the size of a stack of four US quarters that communicates its location with other Apple devices using Bluetooth and Ultra Wideband. Pair an AirTag with your iPhone and put it in your laptop bag, and from then on, you […]
What Is the Cloud?
/in Internet, iOS 10, iPhone, MacBook Pro, macOS 10.12 Sierra, OS X /by MLWPadminNEW2People talk about “the cloud” all the time these days, but what do they really mean? There’s no agreed-on definition, which can render some conversations nearly inscrutable. We can’t pretend to have the final answer—if there will ever be such a thing—but here’s how we think of “the cloud.” (And now we’ll stop quoting it.) […]
How to Digitize Your Signature So You’re Ready for Online Document Signing
/in Internet, iOS 10, iPhone, MacBook Pro, macOS 10.12 Sierra, OS X /by MLWPadminNEW2Over the last decade, and particularly during the last year of pandemic life, documents have become more likely to arrive in email or as downloads than on paper. If you need to return a signed document on paper, it’s easy to print and sign it before popping it in the mailbox. But what if you […]
Privacy Tip: Don’t Post Vaccination Record Cards on Social Media
/in Internet, iOS 10, iPhone, MacBook Pro, macOS 10.12 Sierra, OS X /by MLWPadminNEW2So you’ve gotten your COVID-19 vaccination. Congratulations, and thank you for nudging the planet closer to the herd immunity needed for life to return to normal! It’s a good idea to take a photo of your card as a backup before filing it with your other important papers, just in case. (If you lose the […]
Learn How to Paste Text So Its Style Matches the Surrounding Text
/in Internet, iOS 10, iPhone, MacBook Pro, macOS 10.12 Sierra, OS X /by MLWPadminNEW2When you copy text from a Web page, PDF, or word processing document, macOS usually includes the associated formatting, so the words you paste may end up in 68-point blue italic if that was what the source text looked like. That’s often undesirable. More commonly, you want the text to take on the styling of […]
Intuit Has Stopped Updating the QuickBooks Online Mac App; Switch to a Web Browser
/in Internet, iOS 10, iPhone, MacBook Pro, macOS 10.12 Sierra, OS X /by MLWPadminNEW2If you’re using QuickBooks Online with the service’s Mac app to manage your business’s accounting, you may have seen a message like the one below announcing that Intuit has stopped updating the QuickBooks Online app. This doesn’t affect your QuickBooks Online account, which you can and should use via a Web browser at qbo.intuit.com now. […]
Use Messages to Share Your Current Location Quickly
/in Internet, iOS 10, iPhone, MacBook Pro, macOS 10.12 Sierra, OS X /by MLWPadminNEW2We’ve all gotten that panicked “Where are you?!?” text message at some point. Sometimes it’s an easy question to answer, but at other times, the answer is “Well, right here, wherever that is.” That’s unsatisfying, of course, but using Messages on your iPhone, you can do better. Tap the person’s name at the top of […]