Tips and tricks Articles on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog

Five little-known features in iOS 4

by Michael Jones (Jun 30th, 2010)

Whenever word gets out about a potential software update, as it did for iOS 4 back in January (then called iPhone OS 4), you don't have to look far to find speculation about features or functionality the new version will include. This is ...

Fixing iPhone portrait videos with iMovie

by Dave Caolo (Jun 24th, 2010)

The iPhone 3GS was the first model to let users shoot video, and the iPhone 4 will even shoot in HD (720p). It's so convenient and easy that most people whip them out to shoot a few seconds of the ball game, a fun day at the park or what have you. In ...

Mac 101: Checking in on CUPS

by Erica Sadun (Jun 1st, 2010)

More Mac 101, tips and tricks for new Mac users. Ever wonder how your documents go from screen pixels to paper printouts? CUPS is the open source printing system that powers Mac OS X output, built for a variety of UNIX systems and now developed ...

iPhone backups a bit slow? Dump those images

by Mel Martin (Mar 13th, 2010)

If your iPhone backups and restores are taking a ridiculously long time, Apple suggests you take a quick peek at your Camera Roll. In a new Knowledge Base entry, Apple reminds users that photos are backed up each time you do a sync, even if there ...

Mac OS X's Automator: I learned it by watching you!

by Sang Tang (Mar 4th, 2010)

Mac OS X's Automator has the ability to perform specific tasks from its given set of actions. For example, with a Finder-based action, you can batch move copy, move or rename files that fit a certain criteria. Similarly, image-based actions allow ...

Directly connecting and syncing content between your Mac and Apple TV

by Sang Tang (Feb 26th, 2010)

After many years together, my Linksys WRT54G and I have parted ways. In its place, I'm now using an 802.11g-based Apple AirPort Express with AirTunes that was passed along to me. Besides not wanting to fork out the extra beans (c'mon, who here isn't ...

Terminal Tips: Generate random filenames for digital photo frame images

by Aron Trimble (Feb 25th, 2010)

It's not at all unlikely that you or a relative have received a digital photo frame as some sort of gift. The concept is great, one frame on your mantle, many pictures on display. Unfortunately, Apple has yet to enter the photo frame market -- at ...

Eliminate the blue outer glow in Exposé

by Aron Trimble (Feb 24th, 2010)

One of the more questionable changes that was introduced in 10.6 Snow Leopard was a soft, blue glow that appears around application windows when using Exposé. Previously, in 10.5 Leopard, the entire Window was highlighted blue; now, however, ...

5 tips for switchers

by Sang Tang (Feb 23rd, 2010)

Every now and then I'll have an "I never knew about that" moment as I come across a setting or nuance in Mac OS X that I never realized existed. Take, for instance, character viewer, which allows you to display a variety of characters in your ...

Rob Griffiths leaves Mac OS X Hints

by Mike Schramm (Feb 22nd, 2010)

I have to admit that I don't always use them, but I do always enjoy reading the hints over at Mac OS X Hints -- there probably isn't a more eclectic or helpful mix of random hints about how to use your Mac or iPhone available on the Internet. So I ...

iPhone 101: How to force quit an unresponsive app

by Aron Trimble (Feb 11th, 2010)

We here at the TUAW headquarters rely pretty heavily on our iPhones when we're away from our desks. This is especially true for the lucky ones on the floor at Macworld 2010. Sometimes however, our little pocket computers go haywire and refuse to ...

How to "clean install" Snow Leopard

by Lauren Hirsch (Jan 30th, 2010)

A friend's MacBook had slowed down to a snail's pace. Despite looking everywhere for the issue, streamlining everything I could, and yelling at it, it failed to accelerate to usable speed. So I recommended we start from scratch and build it back up ...

A DIY iPhone car mount for just $2

by Mike Schramm (Jan 23rd, 2010)

So, like me, you've been doing a lot of driving around with your iPhone lately, and you've come to the conclusion that just having it sit next to you on the seat isn't the best way to do things. You need an in-car mounted dock, but you're not ready ...

How to present like Steve Jobs

by Chris Rawson (Jan 17th, 2010)

A commonly cited statistic, repeated on day one of just about every communications course I've taken, is that people are more afraid of speaking or presenting in public than they are of dying. I've never been able to find an official source for this ...

Experiencing the iChat woes? Try the Connection Doctor

by Sang Tang (Jan 15th, 2010)

Now in its fifth iteration, iChat has gained a host of features as it has matured. However, the addition of new features has brought on new complexities and requirements, including both hardware and bandwidth issues. For instance, at the time of its ...

Using Safari's Activity window to download media

by Sang Tang (Jan 14th, 2010)

Although Firefox can be dressed up with a host of extensions, many of which are great, most of the time I like my browser to be a plain Jane. That's why I prefer using Safari most of the time. Well this, and the fact that I can't stand the jerky ...