Your daily dose of practical, easy to follow tech tips!
Question from Lamar: I recently bought my first Mac, and I really like it.
So far I’m adjusting to the differences between Windows and MacOS pretty well, but one thing is really bugging me.
In Windows I can hold down the Shift key and delete a file without it going into the Recycle Bin, but I can’t figure out how to do it on my Mac.
How do I delete a file in MacOS without it going into the Trash Can? [Read more…]
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Regular readers of this blog know that I’m a huge fan of keyboard shortcuts.
I spend several hours every day working with a variety of computers so I’m always looking for ways to work more efficiently.
Using the keyboard to accomplish common tasks saves me a ton of time because I rarely have to take my hands off the keyboard.
In a nutshell, keyboard shortcuts let you accomplish tasks that would often take several mouse clicks with just a single tap of a key (or key combination).
They also save you time by not requiring you to move your hand from the keyboard to the mouse, then back to the keyboard again.
There are dozens of keyboard shortcuts for the various versions of Windows, and I know that remembering all of them would be pretty close to impossible.
But the good news is you don’t have to. [Read more…]
Safe Mode is a powerful tool that can help resolve software and hardware issues that are often difficult to identify while a full-blown Windows installation is running.
In a nutshell, booting a machine into Safe Mode typically loads only the operating system kernel plus just a few basic hardware device drivers.
This is basically a stripped down version of the operating system that isn’t affected by any auto-loading programs or advanced device drivers.
Windows users have been booting their PCs into Safe Mode to help them track down and solve system issues for years, but many Mac users don’t realize they can take advantage of Safe Mode as well.
As with Windows, it’s very easy to boot your Mac into Safe Mode. Just follow these simple steps: [Read more…]
Question from Gill: On a whim I bought a used Mac Pro at a yard sale for a ridiculously low price. I figured it was worth taking a chance on.
When I got it home I plugged it in and it powered up just fine, but I found out there was no hard drive in it.
I had a used hard drive that I had removed from another computer so I installed it in the Mac Pro.
The problem is I don’t know how to install OS X onto the new hard drive. Can you tell me the best (and hopefully easiest) way to do that?
Rick’s answer: [Read more…]
Apple has just released a critical security update for OS X on Macs that are running Yosemite, Mountain Lion or Mavericks. They also warn that operating systems that are left unpatched will remain wide open to hackers.
Unlike Microsoft, Apple rarely releases security updates (because frankly, they rarely need to), but the bug patched by this update is a very serious one. [Read more…]