Tutorials

How to convert CAF files to MP3 or AAC

Anthony Bouchard ∙ Updated September 10, 2018

From time to time, you might come across an audio file format known as .caf (Core Audio Format), which was originally created by Apple to put an end to file size barriers set by other audio file types.

Unfortunately, not every audio player or device works with .caf files, so it might do you good to know how to convert them to another audio file type using the software that comes with your Mac. In this tutorial, we'll show you how to convert .caf files to more commonly-used audio files such as AAC or MP3 with Garageband.

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How to try out the new MacBook Pro Touch Bar on any Mac

Anthony Bouchard ∙ Updated December 27, 2023

If you're really interested in that new Touch Bar that comes built into the top of the keyboard portion of the higher-end MacBook Pro, but don't have the dime to drop on an expensive new computer right now, then you're gonna love this.

A new hack has surfaced on Github that lets you simulate the Touch Bar on any Mac, and it's fully functional, sans the flashy OLED touch surface. We'll show you how to get it in this tutorial.

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How to fine-tune the skip and replay intervals for audiobooks in Books

Steffen Reich ∙ Updated April 12, 2021

If you consider yourself a fan of the spoken word and bank on Apple’s own Books service to listen to your favorite books, you might have been frustrated by some of the app’s design choices before. Especially when it comes to manipulating the play time of your audiobook on the fly, be it on your Lock screen, in Control Center or on Apple Watch, the experience can be inconsistent and altogether suboptimal at times.

What all those interfaces have in common however is a nimble skip forward and skip back button, both of which are pegged at a pretty arbitrary plus and minus 15 seconds per touch.

This brief tutorial is going to remind you of a trick to customise those buttons and better fit them to your skipping habits by shortening or prolonging the time jumps. After all, what’s the use of 15 second skip intervals in the middle of a J. R. R. Tolkien marathon?

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