Articles Index
OS X Memory Usage
Using Activity Monitor to Track Memory Usage: It can sometimes be difficult to get your head around OS X memory usage, especially when it comes time to consider upgrades for your Mac. Will adding more memory provide a significant performance increase? That's a question I often hear, so let's discover the answer together.
Resetting the SMC (System Management Controller) on Your Mac
Resetting your Mac's SMC unit can fix quite a few common problems, as well as some uncommon ones.
Reset PRAM
Reset PRAM: The Mac stores some of its system and device settings in a special type of non-volatile RAM commonly called the PRAM, short for Parameter RAM. Most Mac users don't think much about their Mac's PRAM, but it works hard anyway. It keeps track of startup volume, speaker volume, display settings, DVD region settings, the date, and the time, including your time zone.
Managing the Resume Feature in OS X Lion
You have more control over the OS X Resume feature than just turning it on or off. With a bit of tweaking, you can control which applications Resume will work with, as well as force Resume to forget or remember the state of individual applications.
Use the Network Preference Pane to Change Your Mac's DNS Settings
Configuring your Mac's DNS (Domain Name Server) settings is a pretty straightforward process. Even so, there are a few subtle nuances to be aware of that will help you get the most out of your DNS server.
Move Your Mac's Home Folder to a New Location
Move Your Home Folder to a New Location: Your home folder is always located on the startup drive, the same one that houses the OS. This may not be an ideal location for your home folder, however. Storing the home folder on another drive may be a much better choice, especially if you want to increase the performance of your Mac by installing an SSD (Solid State Drive) to serve as your startup drive.
Resizing OS X Lion's Windows
Lion offers new methods of resizing windows. You can now not only resize a window by dragging from any edge or corner; with modifier keys, you can control the window's aspect ratio as well.
Moving Time Machine to a New Hard Drive
Moving Time Machine to a New Hard Drive: Starting with Snow Leopard (OS X 10.6.x), Apple simplified what’s required to successfully transfer a Time Machine backup. If you follow the steps below, you can move your current Time Machine backup to a new disk. Time Machine will then have enough room to save a larger number of backups, until it eventually fills up the available space on the new drive.
Getting iCloud's Mail Working on Your Mac
Setting up Apple Mail to access your iCloud Mail account is not too difficult. It's relatively easy, in fact, but you need to perform the steps in a certain order. Once you follow the instructions in our quick tip, you'll be able to use your Mac Mail app to view, send, and receive mail from your iCloud account.
Setting Up an iCloud Account on Your Mac
Setting up iCloud on your Mac requires the correct version of OS X and an Apple ID. With these two key components in place, the process of turning on the iCloud services is a piece of cake.
Using the Mac's Appearance Preferences Pane
The Appearance preferences pane controls the basic look and feel of your Mac’s user interface. By making adjustments in the Appearance preferences pane, you can change the overall look and feel of your Mac.
How to Install Fonts in OS X
The Mac comes with a built-in collection of fonts, but you'll probably want to add more to your collection before long. You'll find a wide variety of free and low-cost fonts available on the web. Here's how to install them.
How to Manage Fonts With Font Book
There are a number of ways to manage fonts on your Mac. One of the easiest is to use Font Book, an application that's included free with OS X 10.3 and later. In this tip, we'll show you how to create libraries and collections of fonts using Font Book.
How to Validate Fonts With Font Book
Corrupt or damaged font files can cause all kinds of problems. In this tip, we'll show you how to use Font Book to validate fonts before you install them, as well as during the installation process.
How to Preview Fonts and Print Font Samples
Even if you don’t have a huge number of fonts installed on your Mac, selecting a font for a specific project can be difficult. Sometimes there are only subtle differences between fonts, and the font previews in most applications are limited to the letters in the names of the fonts. In this tip, we'll show you how you can use Font Book to preview fonts and print font samples.
Install and Delete Fonts With Font Book
One of the easiest ways to install and delete fonts on a Mac is to use Font Book, an application included with OS X 10.3 and later. In this tip, we show you how to set Font Book's preferences, as well as how to install and delete fonts using Font Book.
AirDrop With or Without a Wireless Connection
AirDrop is designed for use over a wireless connection, but with a bit of a tweak, you can get it working on your wired Ethernet network as well.
How to Manage Bookmarks in Safari
Web browser bookmarks can quickly get out of hand, particularly if you tend to mark a lot of web sites for later perusal. Our guide to managing Safari bookmarks with folders can help you get and keep them under control.
How to Manage the Top Sites Feature in Safari
The Top Sites feature in Safari provides a visual representation of, and easy access to, the web sites you visit most often. In this quick tip, we show you how to manage Safari's Top Sites feature.
OS X Lion Finder - Understanding the New 'Arrange By' Option
Lion's Finder comes with a brand-new sorting option called Arrange By. Using the Arrange By option may seem straightforward, but it has some hidden secrets. This guide will show you some of the hidden features of the Arrange By option.
Shortcuts and the Safari Bookmarks Toolbar
There's a faster way to do almost everything. Here's a faster way to access some of the sites in your Safari Bookmarks toolbar.
The Safari Toolbar, Bookmarks Bar, Tab Bar, and Status Bar
It's easy to customize the Safari toolbar, as well as hide or show the bookmarks, tab, and status bars.
Restore Smart Searches to OS X Lion's Finder Sidebar
OS X Lion's sidebar is missing the entire Search For section found in previous versions of OS X. You can recreate the smart search options that used to be available from the Finder's sidebar using this guide.
OS X Lion Wi-Fi Diagnostics
OS X Lion has a built-in Wi-Fi diagnostic system that you can use to monitor and tweak the performance of your wireless connection. This guide will explain how to use the Wi-Fi Diagnostics application.
OS X Lion Finder Feature - New Folder With Selection
Getting your files organized is a much simpler process with Lion's New Folder with Selection option. This guide will show you how to use this Lion feature.