Apple, Mac, iPod and iPhone Help, Tips and Expert Advice

Brushing up with Brush Pilot

James Dempsey — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 10:34:00 -0700

Jay Hilgert’s Brush Pilot is a simple application that lets you preview, install, and delete brushes anywhere on your hard drive. James Dempsey takes a closer look.

Bugs & Fixes: Tying up loose ends

Ted Landau — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 07:05:00 -0700

Ted Landau revisits recent Bugs & Fixes columns to see if there are updates for troubles involving the Apple TV and iPhone.

Can an SD card startup disk be used on any Mac?

Roman Loyola — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 10:32:00 -0700

Can an SD card startup disk be used on any Mac? Roman Loyola does a little bit of testing, and finds the answer may be yes.

Create Events-based iPhoto albums featuring specific people

Rob Griffiths — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 09:34:00 -0700

Learn how to create an album in iPhoto to show all photos from all events that contain at least one photo of a selected person.

Choose a MobileMe account for publishing iPhone media

Dan Frakes — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 07:30:00 -0700

The iPhone doesn't let you choose which MobileMe account to use for photo and video uploads, but there's still a way to change that setting. We show you how, thanks to a Mac OS X Hints reader.

Cataloging Mail by date

Christopher Breen — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 13:51:00 -0700

If you miss Entourage's Saved Searches when you move to Apple's Mail, put Mail's smart mailboxes to good use.

Bugs & Fixes: iPhones that are too hot to handle

Ted Landau — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 15:15:00 -0700

The Internet is buzzing about reports of iPhone 3GS models over-heating. But before you assume you need a replacement iPhone or that Apple needs to issue a recall, Ted Landau suggests that you cool down.

Repair incorrect icon associations

Rob Griffiths — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 10:54:00 -0700

Are the icons for certain file types incorrect on your machine -- zip files appearing as disk image files, for instance? If so, this hint will help you quickly fix the problem.

Mac 911 Lightning Round

Christopher Breen — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 10:39:00 -0700

Quick answers to short questions.

Format Word tables to highlight your data

Kirk McElhearn — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 05:44:00 -0700

Take a tour of Microsoft Word's unsung table feature and learn how easy it is to make snazzy tables for your documents.

Change color of BBEdit and TextWrangler 'invisibles' characters

Rob Griffiths — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 10:35:00 -0700

Learn how to change the color of the special characters that BBEdit and TextWrangler use to display invisible characters, such as tabs and line breaks.

Bugs & Fixes: iPhone 3GS signal strength oddities

Ted Landau — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 07:07:00 -0700

Ted Landau noticed his new iPhone 3GS seemed to spend more time connected to the EDGE network than did his old iPhone 3G. So he did a little digging to find out why.

Reduce system workload during drive cloning

Rob Griffiths — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 09:56:00 -0700

Cloning your Mac's hard drive as part of your backup strategy? Then make sure that Spotlight isn't active on that drive before you start cloning it.

Securely wipe your hard drive

Christopher Breen — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 12:41:00 -0700

You say you have a hard drive full of sensitive data that you'd like to see gone, gone gone? Here's how (with bonus ultra-violent erasure technique).

Using iPhoto's Places without a GPS-enabled camera

Rob Griffiths — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 10:22:00 -0700

iPhoto '09's Places features lets you tag the location where an image was shot. But what if you don't have a GPS-enabled camera? Here's how you can recreate the location-tagging feature with the help of an iPhone.

Syncing large music libraries

Kirk McElhearn — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 10:05:00 -0700

You have a large iTunes library and an iPod that can't hold it all? Here are tips for shoe-horning the best stuff on to your portable media player.

Capturing Internet audio

Christopher Breen — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 11:06:00 -0700

You have an audio editor and Internet audio you'd like to capture. How? Like so.

Trouble-free Mac tech support

Christopher Breen — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 07:31:00 -0700

It's gratifying to be the one friends, relatives, and coworkers turn to when they’re faced with Mac problems. But must they call you about every single little thing? Christopher Breen gives his three top tricks for providing tech support without going crazy.

Resetting Visual Voicemail

Philip Michaels — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 17:49:00 -0700

If you're experience problems with Visual Voicemail after your transition to the new iPhone, a reader passes along a quick fix.

Bugs & Fixes: Apple TV deletes files

Ted Landau — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 12:27:00 -0700

Has iTunes started unexpectedly copying several hundred files to your Apple TV when you try syncing your set-top box? It's happened to Ted Landau, so he does some digging to find out the cause.

An easy way to get the newest Chromium build

Rob Griffiths — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 08:00:00 -0700

A combination of a shell script and Automator application can be used to simplify the task of upgrading to the latest Chromium build.

Hands on with stereo Bluetooth and the iPhone 3.0 update

Dan Frakes — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 18:34:00 -0700

The iPhone 3.0 software update brings stereo Bluetooth streaming to select iPhone and iPod touch models. Dan Frakes takes an in-depth look at this new feature.

Feed your iPhone/iPod touch free iTunes content

Christopher Breen — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 11:32:00 -0700

You're probably aware that you can easily find free iTunes content from within the iTunes application on your Mac or PC. Here's how with an iPhone or iPod touch.

Set default duration for new iCal events

Rob Griffiths — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 11:16:00 -0700

Change the default duration for new iCal events from one hour to any time period you wish -- even zero minutes.

Splitting and archiving iPhoto libraries

Christopher Breen — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 15:00:00 -0700

You say your iPhoto library is unwieldy? Here's how to split it into smaller libraries.

Hands on with iPhone 3.0's Spotlight

Dan Frakes — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 12:10:00 -0700

The new iPhone software adds enhanced search tools. Dan Frakes shows you how iPhone 3.0 makes it easier to find information and content on your mobile device.

Change the Add Bookmark button's location in Safari 4

Rob Griffiths — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 10:36:00 -0700

Learn how to split the Add Bookmark button from the URL entry area in Safari 4.

Enlarging images with Alien Skin's Blow Up 2 plugin

James Dempsey — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 09:37:00 -0700

Pros know that enlarging photos is not always as simple a task as it looks. James Dempsey shows you how Alien Skin Software's Blow Up 2 can produce high-quality enlargements without a lot of fuss.

Resolving iPhoto library size discrepancy

Christopher Breen — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 10:26:00 -0700

iPhoto indicates you have 2GB of images yet the iPhoto Library item is 6GB. Why?

Switch network settings with ease

Glenn Fleishman — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 06:44:00 -0700

OS X's built-in Location feature lets you quickly change network settings based on where you are. Glenn Fleishman shows you how to get the most out of this feature, and how to tweak it with third-party tools.

Capture output of certain Unix commands

Rob Griffiths — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 09:46:00 -0700

Learn how to capture the output of certain Unix commands to the clipboard.

Bugs & Fixes: Fixes for iLife problems

Ted Landau — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 07:40:00 -0700

Ted Landau looks at solutions to a pair of potential problems Apple has identified with the iLife suite.

Ripping and burning CDs with iTunes

Christopher Breen — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 12:12:00 -0700

You remember CDs, right? Those silvery discs you played music from before you owned an iPod? Yeah, those. Here's a reminder of what iTunes can do with these discs.

Wolfram Alpha research secrets

Zack Stern — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 11:17:00 -0700

You have to think differently to begin tapping into the abilities of the Wolfram Alpha computational knowledge engine. PC World's Zack Stern offers some tips on how to get started with this new kind of comparison engine.

Image-placing shortcuts in Adobe InDesign

James Dempsey — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 10:03:00 -0700

Adobe's InDesing page-layout application usually offers more than one way to take care of a task. That's certainly the case for placing images in a document. Join James Dempsey as he shows off some ways to improve your productivity with a few handy keyboard shortcuts.

Two useful iChat 4.0 features

Rob Griffiths — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 06:52:00 -0700

Discover the exact time an iChat message was sent or received, and learn how to use a special command to insert uniquely-formatted messages into your iChat conversations.

Leopard's upgrade options

Christopher Breen — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 12:03:00 -0700

Reader Lois is ready to upgrade to Leopard and is concerned that her beloved copy of AppleWorks might not survive the process.

The Button as last resort

Christopher Breen — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 15:58:00 -0700

When a device has given up the ghost, the press of a couple of key buttons could put things right.

Rip CDs better and faster

Kirk McElhearn — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 10:35:00 -0700

Find ripping CDs a slog? Kirk McElhearn offers some tips for more efficiently ripping your discs.

Extend Keynote's power with OmniGraffle's stencils

Rob Griffiths — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 07:55:00 -0700

Learn how to use fully-scalable images (complete with transparency) in Keynote by working with OmniGraffle.

Troubleshoot your Internet connection

Glenn Fleishman — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 04:30:00 -0700

Is your Net connection feeling poky? Are downloads taking forever? The problem could lie anywhere along the line from your Mac to your ISP. Glenn Fleishman explains how to get things back up to speed.

Simplify Terminal directory listings

Rob Griffiths — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 11:15:00 -0700

Rob Griffiths shares a few Unix tips to simplify the output of the 'ls' directory listing command. Also, we point the way to additional Unix tips.

Bugs & Fixes: Solving Twitter problems

Ted Landau — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 10:17:00 -0700

Ted Landau looks at a trio of problems you might have run into if you use the popular microblogging service Twitter.

Launching apps: Beyond the Dock

Macworld Staff — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 00:06:00 -0700

We asked Macworld readers and contributors: How do you launch applications? Here are a few of their cleverest answers.

Combine multiple Mail messages for forwarding

Rob Griffiths — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 10:30:00 -0700

Learn a very simple way to forward many e-mail messages in Mail as one new combined message.

Manage files in OS X your way

Macworld Staff — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 00:01:00 -0700

You don't have to stick with the Finder: Here a few of the ways Macworld contributors and readers have customized OS X to make file-management easier

Reposition Mail's preview pane

Christopher Breen — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 13:17:00 -0700

Care to take advantage of your expansive wide monitor by moving Mail's preview pane to the side? Here's how.

Your Mac, Your Way

Dan Miller — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 00:01:00 -0700

Every Mac user unique. And so is the way each of us set up our virtual desktops, manage files, and launch apps. So we asked Macworld readers and contributors: How have you customized your Mac?

Customize the OS X workspace

Macworld Staff — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 00:01:00 -0700

There's more to customizing your Mac's visual interface than changing the wallpaper. Here's how some Macworld readers and contributors have made their Mac workspaces their own.

Use Mail to help find Craigslist for sale items

Rob Griffiths — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 14:26:00 -0700

Using Mail's rules and ability to subscribe to RSS feeds, you can easily watch Craigslist for things you'd like to buy.