Have you noticed that when you restart your Mac or relaunch an app, your previous windows and documents sometimes reappear exactly as you left them, but at other times you’re greeted with a clean slate? This behavior is controlled by Resume, a technology introduced in OS X 10.7 Lion back in 2011. Resume automatically reopens…
When a Web browser has many tabs open, it can be hard to find the one playing sound if you need to silence it. Worse, when a browser relaunches, it can be tough to identify and silence all the tabs that have automatically started playing audio. Fortunately, many browsers have tools available to help. Tabs…
Sometimes you just don’t want your phone to ring, chirp, or even vibrate. Maybe you’re asleep, in an important meeting, having dinner with family, meditating, playing a game, or simply enjoying some quiet time. Enter: Focus Mode. Apple’s Focus feature on the iPhone, iPad, and Mac can silence those interruptions, but Focus is considerably more…
In iOS, iPadOS, and macOS 26, Apple added an option in the Messages app to filter messages from unknown people and those marked as spam by the carrier. To enable filtering, open Messages, tap the Filter button in the upper-right corner, tap Manage Filtering, and turn on Screen Unknown Senders and Filter Spam. Once those…
We recently helped a client set up an external boot drive on a Mac mini for testing, but the installation kept failing near the end with vague errors. We tried different cables, swapped drives, and more, to no avail. On a hunch, we moved the SSD to a different USB-C port, and the installation completed…
The recently-released macOS 26.4 Tahoe introduced two battery-related features for MacBook users, helping them understand and control MacBook charging. A Slow Charger indicator now appears in the battery status menu and in Battery settings when your Mac is connected to a charger that isn’t delivering the minimum recommended wattage. More significantly, a new Charge Limit…
Yes, we know we’re still on macOS 26. In 2025, Apple announced macOS 27 would be the last version to support Rosetta for most Intel-based apps. (Beyond that, Apple will maintain a subset of Rosetta functionality for older, unmaintained gaming titles.) This fact has become relevant because as of macOS 26.4, when you launch apps…
Silicon Valley thinks everyone wants to delegate writing to AI, which is why Apple Intelligence constantly suggests replies for you in Messages and Mail. But there’s an excellent way to supercharge your typing speed without sounding like a chirpy chatbot or resorting to teenage texting abbreviations: text expansion. Text expansion speeds up typing words or…
If you can work comfortably with the Mac’s four Finder views, you’ll enjoy an easier experience when you try to get to your folders and files. Each view has its pros and cons, so using the best view for the job at hand will make you more productive. Here’s a look at the Icon, List,…
Apple’s Worldwide Developer Conference keynote—the final public appearance for outgoing CEO Tim Cook—was different this year. Although it was still a tour of the changes we’ll see in version 27 of Apple’s operating systems, the company broke it into three parts. The first focused on interface refinements, performance improvements, and feature tweaks that smooth rough…