Posts in the “apple” category

Apple’s mission statement (Tim Cook text)

Apple mission statement: To the best of my knowledge Apple has never published a “mission statement,” but I enjoyed this quote from Tim Cook of Apple regarding Apple's business philosophy, which is essentially their mission statement:

Apple Magic Mouse 2: How long to charge the battery?

I recently bought a new iMac, and it came with a “Magic Mouse 2,” which is like the original Magic Mouse, but this one has a built-in battery. (It would have been nice if the documentation mentioned that, but that’s another story.) Once I figured out that you could charge it, I quickly wondered, “How long do you need to charge the Magic Mouse 2?”

How to check iPhone minutes used (and remaining)

iPhone/iOS FAQ: How can I check how many “minutes used” and “minutes remaining” I have on my iPhone plan (with AT&T or Verizon)?

As I was digging around for some other information I just saw how to check my AT&T iPhone minutes used. Since the iPhone operating system (iOS) is supposed to be the same across carriers, I’ll assume this works for Verizon as well as AT&T.

How to make a backup copy (ISO image) of a CD or DVD using the MacOS dd command

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If you want to make a backup copy (an ISO image) of a CD or DVD on a MacOS system using the Unix dd command at the Mac Terminal command line, I’ll demonstrate the process in this tutorial.

Step 1: Insert a CD or DVD

Assuming that you’re using an external CD/DVD drive, the first step is to connect your drive to your computer, and then insert a CD or DVD. If you insert a movie or music CD and an application automatically starts playing, quit that application.

MacOS Messages app: How to add a new line/paragraph

Today I learned that when you’re using the MacOS Message application, after you type a first line or paragraph, you can start a new line or paragraph by typing [alt][Enter] instead of just [Enter]. If you type [Enter] you’ll send your message, but the [alt][Enter] keystroke combination lets you add new lines and create a new paragraph.

Lesson learned from Apple: Keep innovating, or die

One lesson learned from Apple recently is that if your products stagnate people will start to look around, and when they do that they may spend their money elsewhere.

As just one small example of this, iOS got boring for me, so I started looking around and bought an Android tablet instead of a new iPad. These days the Mac and macOS feel stagnant — or worse than that, moving in the wrong direction by removing features like Spaces — so I’m looking at desktop alternatives as well.

2018 Update: As a result of macOS moving in the wrong direction (IMHO), I now have have a laptop and desktop that run Linux Mint.

How to move iPhone application (app) icons around

iPhone apps FAQ: How do I move iPhone apps or app icons? (Related: How do I move iPod or iPad app icons?)

I'm a relatively new owner of an Apple iPhone 3G, and last night, quite by accident, I learned how to move iPhone apps (applications) from one place to another on the iPhone screen. The technique to move an iPhone app is a bit of fun; here's how you do it.

Steve Sinofsky on Mac computers with ARM processors

In this article Steve Sinofsky talks about Mac computers potentially using ARM processors, based on his history with Microsoft and Windows RT:

“The biggest ‘if’ at all is whether such a device is or would be called Macintosh and the implications of that path. Of course when we named Windows RT there was no debate about using ‘Windows’ in the name as everything had Windows in it for us (Windows NT, Windows Embedded, Windows Media Center, Windows Tablet PC, Windows Server, Windows CE, Windows Phone) and they rarely shared more than the name Windows. But is Macintosh a brand, a set of specific capabilities, a form factor, or what? I’m excited to see as Apple holds all the cards and can choose as they wish.”

A simple Apple “PR vs Advertising” secret

Just before beginning this hellaciously long drive to Alaska, I stopped in a used bookstore to sell 250 of my favorite books (that were too heavy to fit in my RAV4), but in the process, I bought one more: an old copy of Guy Kawasaki’s, The Macintosh Way.

I was going to wait to read The Macintosh Way until I got settled in Alaska, but I’ve had some down time the last few days — waiting out some brutal Canadian winter weather and waiting for new winter tires to be delivered — so I cracked it open.

Tonight, on page 123 — right before some Iditarod sled dogs started barking like crazy at feeding time in the parking lot — I read a few lines from Mr. Kawasaki that succinctly explain Apple’s marketing and public relations approach:

There’s a big difference between advertising and PR. Advertising is when you tell people how great you are. PR is when someone else says how great you are. PR is better. (This is Jean-Louis’ insight.)

How I significantly improved my iTunes song quality

It was driving me crazy that the quality of the songs I was streaming from a website known as Bandcamp sounded better than the quality of the songs I was playing from my iTunes collection. In my case, I recently bought a Marian Call CD named “Something Fierce”, and had imported the songs from that CD into iTunes. But the songs I streamed from Bandcamp sounded better than the songs I imported from the CD; how could this be?

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iPhone/iOS: How to quit using cellular data when using WiFi

I live in Colorado, where cellular reception can be very hit or miss because of the mountains and rolling hills. As just one example there are only two spots in my apartment where I can make a phone call. So when I’m at home trying to view a website using Safari on my iPhone and the page is loading really slow, I find it really annoying that my iPhone is trying to use my cellular data rather than my home wireless network (WiFi).

Note: Apple implies that the cellular data is “assisting” the WiFi, but with the poor cell reception here, I can confirm that this feature just slows down my iPhone internet speed.

Solution: How to turn off cellular data access when on WiFi

Fortunately there’s a way with an iPhone and iOS to turn off this annoying feature. Apple calls this technique “Wi-Fi Assist,” and you can disable it by:

  • Go to Settings on your iPhone
  • Tap Cellular
  • Scroll down (way down) on that screen until you see the Wi-Fi Assist setting. Disable it.

This is what that cellular setting looks like on my iPhone running iOS 10.2:

The iPhone/iOS Wi-Fi Assist setting

If the button background is green (as shown), tap it once to turn off this feature. After you do this your iPhone should just use WiFi data.

Note: It would be nice if you could turn this feature on for poor networks (like when you’re sitting at Starbucks, Panera Bread, etc.) but off for your home network, but unfortunately Apple doesn’t let you do that.

Summary

If, like me, you have a good home WiFi network and poor cellular reception, I think you’ll find that this tip will speed up your iPhone internet access speed. It can also save you money on your cellular data plan.