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iPhone/iPad tip: Create a calendar event or contact directly from email

iPhone/iPad tip: Create a calendar event or contact directly from email

by ben patterson | May 14, 2013 | how-tos, phones, tablets

An invite to a can’t-miss event just landed in your inbox, and you want to mark it in your iPhone’s calendar before you forget—and while you’re at it, you’d like to add the sender’s name to your address book. Well, good news: you’re...
Gmail for Android tip: Shrink wide messages to fill the screen

Gmail for Android tip: Shrink wide messages to fill the screen

by ben patterson | May 9, 2013 | apps, how-tos, phones

Ever find yourself swiping back and forth on your Android display just to read a sentence in a Gmail message? Annoying, right? That’s because Gmail for Android zooms in a bit on some email messages—mainly those with large images, banners, or other graphics—so...
iPhone/iPad tip: How to completely turn off an app’s notifications

iPhone/iPad tip: How to completely turn off an app’s notifications

by ben patterson | May 8, 2013 | apps, how-tos, phones, tablets

So, you thought you turned off the notifications for an iPhone or iPad app, but it’s still bugging you with unwanted banners, beeps and badges. What gives? Well, just because you switched an app’s “Alert style” setting to “none”...
Mac tip: How to stop programs from launching automatically

Mac tip: How to stop programs from launching automatically

by ben patterson | May 7, 2013 | desktops, Featured, how-tos, laptops

(Updated on 11/6/2017) So, here’s a quick question: how long does it take for your Mac to start up? A minute? Two minutes? Five? Or just too long? One possible reason your Mac may be slow out of the blocks is that it’s trying to launch a slew of programs all at the...
Kindle tip: Reset the “furthest page read” of a book you’re re-reading

Kindle tip: Reset the “furthest page read” of a book you’re re-reading

by ben patterson | May 2, 2013 | apps, e-readers, how-tos, phones, tablets

Thanks to the Kindle’s handy “Whispersync” feature, you can start reading a book on, say, your Kindle Fire, then pick up right where you left off on another Kindle-friendly device, like an Android phone or iPhone. But if you try to re-read a Kindle...
Simple password manager for iPad/iPhone? (reader mail)

Simple password manager for iPad/iPhone? (reader mail)

by ben patterson | Apr 30, 2013 | apps, how-tos, phones, security, tablets

Karen writes: I’m looking for an iPad/iPhone app for my passwords but I’d like something simple, like the Contacts app, that I can secure with a password. It would also be great if I could sync with my computer. Any suggestions? Hi Karen! Great...
Gmail for Android tip: Swipe from one message thread to the next

Gmail for Android tip: Swipe from one message thread to the next

by ben patterson | Apr 29, 2013 | apps, how-tos, phones

Unlike the Mail app for iPhone, the official Gmail app for Android phones lacks an obvious way (like, say, a pair of arrow keys on the actual message screen) for navigating from one email directly to the next. Given that, I’m guessing plenty of Android...
Mac tip: How to customize the buttons in program toolbars

Mac tip: How to customize the buttons in program toolbars

by ben patterson | Apr 25, 2013 | apps, desktops, how-tos, laptops

Ever wish there were a Print button next to the Reply and Forward buttons in the Mac’s Mail app, or a pair of Zoom buttons on the top of every Safari browser window? Well, here’s the thing: you can add, remove, and rearrange the buttons in the...
How to keep iTunes from automatically syncing your iPhone or iPad (reader mail)

How to keep iTunes from automatically syncing your iPhone or iPad (reader mail)

by ben patterson | Apr 24, 2013 | desktops, how-tos, laptops, phones, tablets

Libby writes: When I plug my Apple iPad into my PC, iTunes immediately starts an 8-step syncing saga, culminating in starting a download in excess of 5,000 photos. This I do NOT want it to do. Can you help please? Hi Libby! Yep, we can fix this. All you have to do is...
Windows 8 tip: Skip the Start screen and boot directly to the desktop

Windows 8 tip: Skip the Start screen and boot directly to the desktop

by ben patterson | Apr 18, 2013 | desktops, how-tos, laptops

The tiled, multi-colored Start screen is perhaps the flashiest new feature in Windows 8—and it’s also a feature that (for now, at least) you can’t skip. Indeed, if you’re a Windows 8 user who just wants to get to the familiar, “classic”...
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