Mac Geek Gab listener Daryn is interested in seeing the size of both files and folders when using the Terminal. We’ll help him utilize the ‘du’ command to glean that information, and then we’ll talk about how to do that in Recovery Mode where ‘du’ isn’t readily available.
Three Ways to Free Up Space on your iPhone and Remove Old App Data
Recently on Mac Geek Gab the topic of phantom app data has come up, mostly in the context of how one can remove it. This data can be from deleted apps, temp files from existing apps, or sometimes even data that iTunes has downloaded for temporary storage. Over the course of the past few episodes we’ve found three ways to delete this data.
OS X: Opening an App When You Log In
If you’ve ever wanted to force an app to open whenever you reboot or log in, this article’s for you! Or maybe you’ve got a program that keeps launching itself, and you’re wondering where the setting for that is so you can stop it from doing so. In either case, come on in and read today’s Quick Tip.
Checking Your 'Find My Mac' Status (And Why You Might Need To!)
Today’s Quick Tip is about Find My Mac. Are you sure your settings are working properly? Have you checked to be certain you can locate your device if it’s stolen or lost? We’ll tell you how!
Avoid Endless Scrolling: How to Quickly Return to the Top of a Page in iOS
Have you ever scrolled all the way to the bottom of a long webpage or list on your iPhone, only to realize that you need to return to the top? You could start rapidly swiping your finger on the screen to scroll back up to the top, or you could use a handy little trick to instantly jump to the beginning. Mac Geek Gab listener Scott provides today’s Quick Tip that every iOS user should know.
OS X: Renaming a Bluetooth Device
If one of your Bluetooth devices (like your Magic Keyboard or Magic Mouse) has a name you aren’t fond of, how do you change it? The process is a bit different than it used to be, so we’re going to go over what you’ll do!
Photos: Downloading iCloud Photo Library Pictures
Today’s Quick Tip is about iCloud Photo Library. What are your options for it? How do you make sure all of your pictures have been downloaded to your Mac? And what if you need to download just a specific set of your stuff? We’ll explain it all!
How to Tell Which Leaked iPhone Photos are Fake
As September 7th’s iPhone 7 launch looms ever closer we’re seeing more and more leaked photos showing what claim to be photos of Apple’s soon to be announced next generation smartphone. Those photos may be fun to see, but there’s a good chance they’re fake and it doesn’t take much to suss them out when you know what to look for.
OS X: Installing the Older Version of Microsoft Office
On September 22, Microsoft is going stop allowing its Office 365 customers to download Office 2011. So if you need to take advantage of the time remaining to grab the older version of the popular Office suite, there’s no better time to do so! We’ll show you how.
OS X Mail: Dealing with Attachments
This Quick Tip is about manipulating attachments in Mail on your Mac. We’ll talk about the different menus, your right-click options, and even dragging things around to make ’em do your bidding!
Edit Playlist Columns in iTunes 12.4 and Later
Every update to iTunes seems to refine a useful feature out of the interface, and as I created a new playlist in iTunes this morning I found yet another. All new Playlists are stuck in “Playlist” view, which has a limited selection of columns and no obvious way to customize them. No worries, you can still customize them, you just have to change your View first. We’ll show you how.
iOS Mail Power Searches
iOS Mail lets you search your messages, and most folks know that. What many of us didn’t know until Aaron’s comment in Sunday’s Mac Geek Gab 616 was that iOS responds differently to certain key words. If, for example, you type “yesterday” into Mail’s search field, it offers to “tokenize” that and make it a condition of the search, limiting to things dated, well, yesterday. Once you tokenize a term, you can add another. We’ve all experienced tokenizing someone’s name or an email subject, but the list is much bigger than that.
Touch ID Trick: Train Multiple Fingerprints at Once
Apple’s Touch ID is an excellent security convenience, allowing you to quickly unlock your iPhone or iPad without having to type in your Passcode. Most of us will want to train at least the index finger and thumb of both hands in order to have some unlocking flexibility. That requires adding each fingerprint manually, and the iPhone only allows five total fingerprints to be trained. What if you want to train more than five fingers? Or what if you want to make the training process more efficient? In Sunday’s Mac Geek Gab 616, listener Robin provided an answer to these questions: train multiple fingerprints simultaneously.
Pokémon GO: Can't Catch More Pokémon? Clear Out Your List
My first experience playing Pokémon happened when I installed Pokémon GO on my iPhone, and it didn’t take long before I discovered “gotta catch ’em all” doesn’t mean you have to catch every one you see. I quickly hit my 250 Pokémon storage limit, mostly with Pidgeys, but also found you can offload as many as you like to make room for that Pikachu you really want. Read on to learn how.
OS X Preview: Clipping Out Backgrounds Using Instant Alpha
Today’s Quick Tip is on how to use Preview’s Instant Alpha tool, so if you’ve got an image on a colored background, for example, you can clip that baby right out. Better-looking graphics with no Photoshop required? We love it.
Pokémon GO: Tracking Pokémon with PokéVision
Hunting down Pokémon is pretty frustrating when you know one is near, but can’t find it. That’s because the tracking feature in Pokémon GO is horribly broken and there isn’t any word on when it’ll be working again. To that end, some resourceful Pokémon GO fans put together a site that not only tells you where nearby Pokémon are, but how long they’ll be around.
How to Display the macOS/OS X Version From the Command Line
There may be occasions when one wants to verify what OS X version is running on a Mac. We all know how to do it from the GUI with “About This Mac,” but John shows us how to do it from the UNIX command line when necessary.
iOS Messages: Leaving Group Conversations
This Quick Tip is all about a neat Messages feature called “Leave this Conversation.” Melissa Holt will discuss why you need it and why you might not be able to use it in certain situations.
Pokémon GO: How to Turn off AR
It’s really cool seeing a Charmander, Flareon, or Pikachu right in front of you when you’re playing Pokémon GO. The augmented reality, or AR, that lets you see a Pokémon on the sidewalk in front of you is pretty fun, but turning it off can save a little battery life and makes the game easier to play, too. Read on to learn how to turn off Pokémon GO’s AR feature.
How to Apply for Twitter Account Verification
Previously only available by private invitation, Twitter now allows users to apply for account verification. Note that you still need to be noteworthy or otherwise provide a compelling reason for Twitter to approve your verification, but at least now you can ask instead of having to sniff around at cocktail parties and coffee shops for someone who knows someone. To get verified your account must first be in proper shape. Read along and we’ll help get you there.
