• November 4, 2021

    Avoid Unusual Top-Level Domains in Custom Domain Names

    Remember the heady dotcom days, when businesses were desperate to get a short, memorable, easily typed .com domain? It quickly became difficult to get what you wanted—so much so that deep-pocketed companies paid exorbitant sums for just the right domain. Before we go an... Read more
  • November 2, 2021

    The Best Apple-Related Gifts for 2021

    It may seem early to start thinking about the holiday shopping season, but with the global supply chain suffering pandemic-related slowdowns, there’s no telling how long it will take to get something you order today. Apple has generally done a good job of managing its supply chain issues, but even still, if you want to make sure you have an Apple something for that special someone, we recommend... Read more
  • November 2, 2021

    Live Text Digitizes Text in Photos in iOS 15, iPadOS 15, and macOS 12 Monterey

    The most magical feature of Apple’s latest crop of operating systems—iOS 15, iPadOS 15, and macOS 12 Monterey—may be Live Text. You’re probably familiar with the concept of optical character recognition (OCR), which turns all the text on a scanned page into normal text you can select, copy, and edit. Live Text does exactly that in Photos, Safari, and the Camera app, plus lets you search ... Read more
  • October 28, 2021

    Beware the Bulging Battery! (And What to Do If Yours Expands)

    We’ve been seeing a spate of bulging batteries of late, both in Mac laptops and iPhones. A bulging battery is a Very Bad Thing™ and must be dealt with immediately because it could catch fire or even expl... Read more
  • October 26, 2021

    Apple Radically Improved Multitasking in iPadOS 15. Here’s How to Use It

    Multitasking has long been a mess on the iPad, not so much because it didn’t work but because it was tough to memorize the secret swipes necessary to put multiple apps into Split View, work with multiple windows in apps that supported them, and hide and show what you wanted in Slide Over. In iPadOS 15, Apple hasn’t changed the underlying multitasking capabilities much, but it has made them far ... Read more
  • October 21, 2021

    What Is iCloud+ and What Can You Do With It?

    As you upgrade to iOS 15, iPadOS 15 (and macOS 12 Monterey by the end of the year), you’re going to see references to iCloud+. You might even already be an iCloud+ subscriber! That’s because iCloud+ is Apple’s new name for what you get if you pay for additional iCloud storage for yourself and up to five family... Read more
  • October 19, 2021

    New M1 Pro and M1 Max Chips Power the 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pros

    Last year, Apple started to transition Macs away from Intel processors to its custom M1 system-on-a-chip. The M1’s performance is stellar, but Apple has used it only in low-end models so far: the MacBook Air, 13-inch MacBook Pro, Mac mini, and new 24-inch iMac. For professionals looking for more power, Apple unveiled the future of high-end Macs at its October 18th Read more
  • October 19, 2021

    New Features to Try (Or Not) in Safari 15

    Along with a new version of Safari in iOS 15 and iPadOS 15, Apple has released Safari 15 for macOS 11 Big Sur and macOS 10.15 Catalina. Why do this before macOS 12 Monterey ships? Some of the browser’s new capabilities—notably the Tab Groups feature—integrate it more deeply into your Apple device experience by syncing across devices. So, assuming you have Safari 15 on at least some of your devi... Read more
  • October 14, 2021

    When Migrating to a New iPhone or iPad, Try Quick Start First

    You have a new iPhone or iPad—congratulations! When transferring your data to the new device, you have three options: Quick Start, an iCloud backup, or a Read more
  • October 12, 2021

    After Upgrading to iOS 15, Check Do Not Disturb in Focus Settings

    In iOS 15 and iPadOS 15, Apple expanded the concept of Do Not Disturb to what it calls Focus. You can create a Focus for different types of activities, so only specific people and apps can break through your cone of silence at appropriate times. Focus subsumes the old Do Not Disturb functionality, and your settings may not transfer when you upgrade, leaving you o... Read more