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Mac tip: Miss the Favorites bar in Safari? Here’s how to get it back

Mac tip: Miss the Favorites bar in Safari? Here’s how to get it back

by ben patterson | Oct 28, 2014 | desktops, how-tos, laptops

Phil writes: Thanks for the tip on the full-screen button [in Yosemite for Mac]. What happened to the Favorites toolbar? Now it seems that you have to click the little box on the left to get the tool bar to drop and then select. Seems long winded. Hi Phil! I too was a...
Mac “Yosemite” tip: What happened to the full-screen button?

Mac “Yosemite” tip: What happened to the full-screen button?

by ben patterson | Oct 22, 2014 | desktops, how-tos, laptops

I’d been using the new OS X “Yosemite” update on my iMac for barely five minutes, and already I was stumped. All I wanted to do was change the Calendar and Mail apps to full-screen mode, like I used to do on OS X “Mavericks.” But...
Mac “Yosemite” tip: Focus on the task at hand with “dark” mode

Mac “Yosemite” tip: Focus on the task at hand with “dark” mode

by ben patterson | Oct 20, 2014 | desktops, how-tos, laptops

In case you’re wondering, no: I don’t recommend installing the just-released “Yosemite” update for Mac OS X quite yet. Wait until the first major bug patch comes out, and be sure you’re ready for a big change in the way your Mac’s...
Mac tip: An even easier way to type letters with accent marks

Mac tip: An even easier way to type letters with accent marks

by ben patterson | Sep 15, 2014 | desktops, how-tos, laptops

Remember last week’s Mac tip about using the Option key to type letters with accent marks? That was clever, I thought, but a helpful reader has chimed in with a much better idea. Here’s the message I got from Carole R.: You have just answered a query re...
Mac/Windows tip: Create a “recent files” folder on your desktop

Mac/Windows tip: Create a “recent files” folder on your desktop

by ben patterson | Sep 3, 2014 | desktops, how-tos, laptops

Ansley writes: When I went to my hard drive, there was always an option to open a folder only with items from today or this week. Now it’s gone! I used this a ton to find documents that accidentally saved to the wrong place on my computer. How can I get this folder...
Mac tip: How to restore your keyboard to its default settings

Mac tip: How to restore your keyboard to its default settings

by ben patterson | Aug 25, 2014 | desktops, how-tos, laptops

Lee writes: We have a new-to-us Mac Pro that has us puzzled. Many of the keyboard keys don’t match the characters on the keys, so we have to do sleuthing by trial and error when we need to insert a hyphen or a slash or colon, etc. How can we reset the keyboard...
Mac tip: What’s this icon on my desktop, and how can I hide it?

Mac tip: What’s this icon on my desktop, and how can I hide it?

by ben patterson | Aug 19, 2014 | desktops, how-tos, laptops

Nancy writes: I recently purchased a MacBook Air and realized it did not come with Java, which I need to play games on POGO.com. I downloaded the most recent Java for Mac and there were icons for these downloads placed on my desktop. Presumably, these applications...
Mac tip: How to securely erase files in the Trash bin

Mac tip: How to securely erase files in the Trash bin

by ben patterson | Aug 11, 2014 | desktops, how-tos, laptops, security

Just because you tossed a bunch of sensitive files into your Mac’s trash bin doesn’t mean they’re gone forever. Even after emptying the trash, your deleted files are still sitting on your hard drive, waiting to be recovered by anyone with enough...
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