System Information (formerly System Profiler) in OS X provides a detailed breakdown of the hardware and software configuration of a Mac, from Bluetooth information and attached USB devices to installed software and extensions.
While most of us have used System Information at one time or another, it’s an often overlooked and undervalued tool. To get the most out of it, we’ll exploring the app, and its lesser-known command-line options, in further detail.
Read MoreNotification Center certainly has room for improvement and its myriad of vague settings can often lead to confusion.
To help you understand this feature of iOS a little more and get the most out of it, Rene Ritchie over at iMore has compiled an extensive collection of previously published tips and tricks into a single place, ranging from controlling app badges and sounds to customising the Today view.
There's plenty to read through and each guide includes screenshots to show you exactly what to do. If you're left frustrated with Notification Center, or notifications in general, this is a great reference to come back to.
If you’re responsible for the configuration of tens, if not hundreds, of brand-new Macs then you’ll probably know how time consuming it can be to get them all set up exactly the same. The process of setting up a user account, installing any required software and applying all of the available updates on each and every Mac before handing them to users can be both laborious and horribly inefficient.
While we have covered disk imaging previously in the multi-part guide Disk Management From the Command-Line, we’ll now explore how to quickly and easily build a complete OS X image that includes everything we might need, providing us with a standardised image that can be restored to any Mac.
Read MoreAlex Guyot at MacStories has written the definitive guide to Launch Center Pro for iOS that covers everything you'd ever need to know, from the different input options to integrating with other automation apps, such as Drafts and Pythonista.
Clocking in at over 17,000 words, this is an absolute must-read for anyone wanting to get the most out of this exceptional app.
If you forget your OS X account password then it can be reset by either another user, provided they have administrator privileges, or through OS X Recovery.
A new password recovery feature introduced with OS X Lion is the option of assigning an Apple ID to your OS X user account. Should you forget your password or if it has been changed without your knowledge, you can reset it yourself without the assistance of another user or the process of booting the Mac into OS X Recovery.
Read MoreDavid Sparks demonstrates a great way to use Drafts for iOS, Dropbox and Hazel to remotely put your Mac to sleep. It's one of those really amazing tricks that are simple to set up and can be customised to do almost anything you'd want.
iOS is incredibly simple to learn and use with very little instruction or guidance, yet some of its best features are the little things that many of us can easily overlook. To help new and seasoned users alike, I’m delighted to announce that my latest book, The iOS Compendium, Volume 1, is now available on the iBooks Store for just $4.99.
The iOS Compendium, Volume 1 is an interactive iBook containing over 40 of the best tips and tricks that iOS has to offer, each with specially recorded narrated screencasts for you to watch, totalling over an hour of video.
Whether you’re a first-time iPad owner or have been using an iPhone since it was first released, any iOS user will find this book indispensable.
The book has been designed for viewing on an iPad and Mac using the iBooks app (PDF and ePub versions coming soon) and you can download a chapter of the book as a free sample from the iBooks Store.
Update: If you are unable to purchase The iOS Compendium from the iBook Store, or don't have an iPad or Mac to view it with, a PDF version is now available to purchase in our Ebook store.
The EarPods with Remote and Mic (or any 3rd-party iPhone-compatible earphones) can be used with more than just the iPhone. These, and many of the thousands available from 3rd-parties, such as Sennheiser and Bose, can be purchased separately and used with any iPad and most iPods from 2008 onwards.
But it isn't just mobile devices that they can be used with, as the Mac has also been supporting iPhone-compatible earphones for several years.
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A little-known feature introduced back in iTunes 9 is a special folder named Automatically Add to iTunes, located within your iTunes library. By placing content into this folder rather just dragging content into the app, you can save both time and disk space when wanting to import media into iTunes.
We can also create some useful Automator workflows that, when combined with this useful folder, will make moving content into iTunes a quick and simple process.
Read MoreScotty Loveless goes above and beyond in this excellent breakdown of what can cause battery drain in iOS and how you prolong the time between charges.
If nothing else, make sure to read Scotty's explanation of why quitting background apps is not only pointless, it can be a main cause of battery woes.
