by Steve
on October 14, 2011
I was afraid that my article and video on “How to upgrade memory in your Mac” may have been a bit geeky, but I was overwhelmed by how many readers were interested in the topic. Some dove right in and bought more memory for their Mac.
Newsletter subscriber Dean wanted to upgrade his MacBook Pro and asked a great question about what size memory modules he should buy. I told him that first we had to find out what memory modules he already had. In this video I show how to quickly figure that out. I also discuss memory configuration options and some things you absolutely must get right when buying upgraded memory for your Mac. [continue reading…]
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by Steve
on October 14, 2011
You may have received emails with attached zip files, or maybe you’ve downloaded some. Depending on your settings, your Mac may automatically “unzip” them (extracting all the files contained within) or require at most a double-click on the file name.
But what if you have some files or folders and want to create a zip file that contains them all? That’s just what newsletter subscriber Jane asked. This video answers her question and shows just how easy it is.
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by Steve
on October 6, 2011
Inside: Weather widgets, widget tricks, Steve Jobs
This week’s newsletter will be concise because, frankly, I’m at a loss for words after hearing the news of Steve Jobs’ death. But I suspect he would say to just buck up and carry on, so…
The theme this week is weather widgets. But even if you think you have no interest in the subject, keep reading. These widgets (and Dashboard widgets in general) are great tools for helping you learn about your Mac. Learning all their features often requires exploring and bravely clicking on their various sections. Never fear, you won’t break anything. You may find things you don’t want, but in the process you’ll learn many of the ways that software features are turned on, configured, and turned off. And you’ll likely make some interesting discoveries. [continue reading…]
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by Steve
on October 6, 2011
I like to keep tabs on the weather in my neighborhood but also other places I like to visit. All the weather widgets I reviewed in “Dashboard weather widget review” only display information for one location, but that’s not a problem since the Dashboard lets you add multiple copies of a widget. Watch this video and see how I create my dream weather monitoring display using multiple copies of two different widgets. [continue reading…]
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by Steve
on October 5, 2011
Your Mac comes with a weather widget already installed on the Dashboard, but there are many more to choose in the “Information” category on Apple’s Dashboard Widgets page. Each has some neat features but also some drawbacks. Watch this video for a quick review of five popular weather widgets.
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by Steve
on September 28, 2011
Inside: Widgets, iStat Pro features, upgrading memory
Well the cards and letters (virtual ones at least) came pouring in since my mention in the last newsletter about Dashboard widgets in general and the iStat Pro widget specifically. I was reading one such email last Wednesday while sitting in a Seattle conference room with a bunch of my fellow Internet entrepreneurs when it hit me–I should declare Wednesdays on Facebook to be “Widget Wednesday”.
Fans of Mac Help For Mom on Facebook saw that that is just what I did. If you haven’t yet “Liked” Mac Help For Mom on Facebook, click the link in the previous sentence to see what you’re missing. Every Wednesday on Facebook we’ll discuss a different Dashboard widget and make suggestions for future featured widgets.
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by Steve
on September 27, 2011
I received many comments and emails about my recent article on How to check memory usage on your Mac and the iStat Pro Dashboard widget I installed and demonstrated in that article’s video. Many readers installed that widget and liked having more insight into their Mac’s memory usage, but some found the variety of system information displayed in iStat Pro to be a bit overwhelming. Never fear–iStat Pro is highly customizable. Watch this video to see all the ways to adapt the widget to your needs. [continue reading…]
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by Steve
on September 27, 2011
As I recently showed in How to check memory usage on your Mac, sometimes your demands on your Mac are greater than its memory can handle and your computer’s performance suffers. Replacement memory is inexpensive (this wasn’t always the case) and can be surprisingly easy to install.
Opening up your Mac computer and upgrading the memory may sound like a scary proposition, but it shouldn’t. You do need to handle the memory and computer carefully (more on this later) but the process is often simple. In this video it takes me less than four minutes and one screwdriver to upgrade the memory in my MacBook Pro.
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by Steve
on September 14, 2011
Inside: How to watch video tutorials, memory usage, Dashboard widgets
Much of this newsletter is about memory. Since it’s been a few weeks since you heard from me, you might think that I’m the one with memory problems. I won’t confirm or deny my “issues” 🙂 but I will talk about how to monitor your Mac’s memory and how to better remember what you learn in video tutorials like on Mac Help For Mom.
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by Steve
on September 13, 2011
This may sound silly but here’s a video about how to watch videos. Please stick with me a minute.
My Mom was having trouble remembering all the details in some Mac Help For Mom videos, so I asked how she was using the videos. She said she took notes while watching and then would try to follow the notes to do what I taught. I suggested that instead she watch the videos and follow along with the steps at the same time. This video shows how easy it is to switch back and forth between watching a video tutorial and immediately practicing what you learn. [continue reading…]
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