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iOS tip: 4 ways to fix a crashy iPhone or iPad app

iOS tip: 4 ways to fix a crashy iPhone or iPad app

by ben patterson | Nov 18, 2015 | apps, how-tos, phones, tablets

Just the other day and for no apparent reason, my trusty New York Times app decided to stop working. I’d launch it, I’d see the Times front page for a split second, then poof! It was gone, and I was back on my home screen. Luckily, I was able to get the...
Mac tip: An easy (and free) way to add text, arrows and more to photos

Mac tip: An easy (and free) way to add text, arrows and more to photos

by ben patterson | Nov 10, 2015 | desktops, how-tos, laptops

Nadine writes: What app or program can I use to add text to photos on my Mac? I need to make a souvenir photo album on CD and need some help to add text in each photo. I know about Photoshop but it’s quite expensive. Is there anything that’s more...
Mac tip: Hide the Dock from your desktop until you need it

Mac tip: Hide the Dock from your desktop until you need it

by ben patterson | Nov 4, 2015 | desktops, how-tos, laptops

The Mac’s desktop dock—you know, the strip of apps sitting at the bottom of your Mac’s screen—is one of those features that’s only handy…oh, about ten percent of the time. For example, when I need to jump to my Mail app or launch iTunes,...
iOS tip: How to sign a PDF directly in Mail (and other PDF tricks)

iOS tip: How to sign a PDF directly in Mail (and other PDF tricks)

by ben patterson | Oct 28, 2015 | how-tos, phones, tablets

Not all that long ago, the only way to sign a PDF on iPhone or iPad was to open it in a third-party PDF app. With the arrival of iOS 9, though, you can put your John Hancock directly on a PDF attached to any Mail message. Even better, you trace arrows and circles on...
iOS tip: Hide iMessage spam with “Unknown Senders” filter

iOS tip: Hide iMessage spam with “Unknown Senders” filter

by ben patterson | Oct 13, 2015 | how-tos, phones, tablets

Nope, there’s not much you can do to stop iMessage spammers from bombarding you with random messages about discount Ray-Bans. Luckily, iOS boasts a feature that can stop iMessage junk from filling your Messages inbox. Once you turn on the “Unknown...
iOS 9 tip: Safari’s reader mode just got a whole lot better

iOS 9 tip: Safari’s reader mode just got a whole lot better

by ben patterson | Oct 6, 2015 | how-tos, phones, tablets

Until very recently, the easy-on-the-eyes Safari reader mode for iPhone and iPad—you know, the feature that strips all the clutter from articles on the web—was painfully basic. Once you turned on Safari reader mode (which you can do by tapping the three-line button on...
iOS 9 tip: Select text on your iPad with two fingertips

iOS 9 tip: Select text on your iPad with two fingertips

by ben patterson | Sep 30, 2015 | how-tos, tablets

If you’ve ever tried to select text by grabbing those itty-bitty blue handles while selected text on your iPad, you’ll know how delicate—and sometimes infuriating—the process can be. The bad news is that selecting words, sentences or paragraphs in a web...
iOS 9 tip: How to banish Newsstand from your iPhone or iPad

iOS 9 tip: How to banish Newsstand from your iPhone or iPad

by ben patterson | Sep 23, 2015 | how-tos, phones, tablets

One of the best reasons to install the new iOS 9 update onto your iPhone or iPad isn’t so much because it adds some nifty new feature, but because it finally lets you delete an older, incredibly annoying one – the newsstand app.  Newsstand elbowed its way...
Mac tip: 4 ways to right-click on a Mac’s one-button trackpad

Mac tip: 4 ways to right-click on a Mac’s one-button trackpad

by ben patterson | Sep 15, 2015 | desktops, how-tos, laptops

How do you right-click on a Mac when your Mac’s trackpad doesn’t have a right-click button? That’s a common question, and luckily there’s an easy answer—four of them, in fact. For starters, you can… Method No. 1:  Here’s the classic...
Mac tip: Use the function keys without pressing “Fn”

Mac tip: Use the function keys without pressing “Fn”

by ben patterson | Sep 9, 2015 | desktops, how-tos, laptops

On most Mac keyboards, the function keys—you know, those keys along the top of the keyboard marked “F1,” “F2,” “F3,” and so on—don’t get the luxury of having an entire key to themselves. Indeed, the function keys often have to share their keys with volume controls,...
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