How-To Archives - The Mac Observer

How to Transfer You Music Library From Spotify to Apple Music With SongShift

11:31 AM EDT, Sep 25th, 2019 · Charlotte Henry · Tips

Moving from Spotify to Apple Music? SongShift for iOS is an easy way to transfer your entire music library from one service to another.

How to Prepare Your iPhone and Update to iOS 13

8:23 AM EDT, Sep 19th, 2019 · Andrew Orr · How-To

Apple is releasing iOS 13 today, the newest version of its iPhone operating system. Our guide can help you safely update your iPhone.

Here's How to Protect Yourself Against the Zoom Zero Day

9:55 AM EDT, Jul 9th, 2019 · Andrew Orr · How-To

Security researcher Jonathan Leitschuh recently published information of a Zoom zero day vulnerability. Here’s how to protect yourself.

How to Download macOS Catalina Public Beta

1:37 PM EDT, Jun 27th, 2019 · Andrew Orr · How-To

Now that people aren’t hammering Apple’s servers all at once, it’s a good time to download the macOS Catalina public beta.

Video: How To Use Apple's New Mac Pro Placing AR Tool

1:21 PM EDT, Jun 20th, 2019 · Charlotte Henry · Tips

Apple announced that users excited about a new Mac Pro could see how it would look in their office via an AR tool – Charlotte tested it out.

Security 101: What is a Threat Model, and How Do I Create One?

3:50 PM EDT, Jun 14th, 2019 · Andrew Orr · How-To

If you hang around privacy or security forums long enough, you’ll eventually come across the term “threat model.” Here’s what they mean.

How to Choose the Best Mesh Wireless System For Your Home

4:11 PM EDT, May 20th, 2019 · Dave Hamilton · How-To

Sorting through the mesh wireless systems available today can be tricky. Read on, and we’ll teach you how to decide which one is best for you. [Update: Anti-malware is a theme of this update, with Plume SuperPods, Orbi, and Linksys Velop all joining the club with solid offerings in this regard. eero and Plume both solved their LAN persistence problems, keeping your Wi-Fi alive even if your Internet connection goes down. AmpliFi is doing some cool things for IoT users with regards to setting up separate SSIDs for that, too. See Changelog – Dave]

iOS: How to Control Which Apps Can Access Your Contacts (You Should)

5:49 PM EDT, Apr 23rd, 2019 · John Martellaro · How-To

Sometimes an iOS app wants access to your Contacts — for good but sometimes also bad reasons. Here’s how control which apps can read your iOS Contacts. And revoke permission if necessary.

How to Use Alexa to Control Apple Music on Sonos

1:52 PM EDT, Apr 17th, 2019 · Dave Hamilton · How-To

Late last year, Alexa gained the ability to control Apple Music. At that point, only Amazon-branded devices would work. As of today, April 17th, 2019, Alexa on your Sonos One or Sonos Beam can now control Apple Music. You can also use any Echo device to control your connected Sonos system. We’ll show you how!

How To Convert iPhone Photos Back to JPG Format

5:57 PM EDT, Apr 3rd, 2019 · John Martellaro · How-To

If you find that the default file format for your iPhone’s photos is HEIC and you wanted JPG instead, here’s how to change it back.

Turn Your Mac Into a DJ Booth

12:31 PM EDT, Apr 2nd, 2019 · Charlotte Henry · Tips

There are some fantastic software options to help you DJ properly on your Mac and without breaking the bank.

Apple's macOS Mojave 10.14.4 Update Includes Gmail Bug - We Have a Possible Fix

6:48 PM EDT, Mar 28th, 2019 · Kelly Guimont & Dave Hamilton · How-To

A dialog box with a prompt asking for a Gmail password.

If you use Apple Mail to connect to a Gmail or G-Suite account, you might have trouble with the latest macOS Mojave 10.14.4 update. And if you’re experiencing this problem, we have a fix for you to try.

Syncing Trello and Todoist to Boost Productivity

4:42 PM EDT, Mar 18th, 2019 · Charlotte Henry · Tips

Trello and Todoist are key tools in lots of people’s productivity armoury, but it is not obvious how they can best work together.

Resolved: Making Better Mac Backups

5:53 PM EDT, Dec 18th, 2018 · John Martellaro · How-To

This is the time of year when many are on vacation. And making new year’s resolutions. It’s good to reflect on and possibly update one’s Mac backup strategy. John walks us through it.