One of my chief complaints with Windows 8 is that Microsoft forced you to boot to the new Start screen rather than giving you the option of booting to the desktop–which is where I prefer to hang my computing hat. You could work around this using any number of utilities (most of which were designed …
You’ve probably read at least one story with warnings about using unsecure public Wi-Fi hotspots, so you know that eavesdroppers can capture information traveling over those networks. But nothing gets the point across as effectively as seeing the snooping in action. So I parked myself at my local coffee shop the other day to soak …
Release previews are never for the faint of heart. Trial software is prone to dealing out all sorts of bumps and bruises, and if something goes really, truly rotten, you could wind up with a complete (and inadvertent) system wipe on your hands. Now, the Windows 8.1 preview seems remarkably stable as far as these …
The mouse may be the most intuitive way to control a browser, but it’s not the most efficient. As MLStrand56 learned on the Answer Line forum, browser shortcuts can be valuable. I’d like to tell you that nothing can speed up your Web browsing like a few basic keyboard shortcuts. But that’s not really true. …
The Yahoos of the world may be eliminating telecommuting, but the fact is, working from home is easier than ever. I work from home myself, so I’m clearly biased, but many companies find that home-based workers are more productive than their office-based brethren. Here are the Mac apps and web-based tools I use to make working from home …
In the previous two lessons, I took you through Safari’s interface and offered a glimpse of the browser’s most important preferences. This week we wrap up Safari with a few techniques that I hope you’ll find helpful. Read it later Store webpages you wish to read later in Safari’s Reading List. Very of us have the time …
If you’ve purchased an external hard drive recently, there’s a good chance it came with a USB 3.0 interface. That’ll work with your old desktop, as most USB 3.0 devices are backward-compatible with USB 2.0 ports. The problem is you’re not enjoying the significant speed benefits afforded by the newer technology. So what’s the solution? …
Reader Walt Pinkston has family abroad that he’d like to chat with via FaceTime. He writes: I’m a casual user of FaceTime, and it seems to work well most of the time. However, I’ve just noticed that I can’t establish a FaceTime connection with my daughter who’s traveling in the United Arab Emirates. She has …
You’ve thought long and hard about it and have decided to make the switch from your Windows PC to a Mac. The hard part’s over, right? You just traipse down to a promising-looking electronics boutique, slap down your credit card, learn the secret handshake, and you’re a Mac owner. Not exactly. There are still questions …
Google Earth users can do more than just fly around a virtual globe. The free mapping application can display real-time weather, help compose photographs and measure distances much more easily than its Maps cousin. Turn on the 3D building information in Google Earth by clicking on that option in the layers panel. In a recent …