Guide

Using your iPhone as a remote for your Mac or PC

Anthony Bouchard ∙ Updated July 4, 2018

You're probably familiar with Apple's Remote app for iOS devices, which allows you to control your iTunes playback on your Mac from your iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad so long as you're on the same network.

On the other hand, when I think of the word "remote," I think of much more than just controlling music.

It would seem that the makers of the popular Mobile Mouse Remote app for iOS thought the same, and in this piece, we'll talk about how the app works to make your iOS device a superior remote for your Mac.

How to view recent Safari history on your Mac

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated March 1, 2023

Not only does Safari give you the fastest way to surf the web on your computer, it's also the most energy efficient web browser on macOS that maximizes your Mac's battery life.

As so many Mac owners use Safari on a daily basis, their browsing histories are packed to the gills with records of previously visited websites.

Finding your way back to a previously visited site by searching the entire browsing history can be quite tedious with months or years of data stored in it.

Like on iOS, Safari for Mac provides a convenient shortcut that lets you quickly jump to any previously visited webpage on a per-tab basis.

About XPS files and how to open them on a Mac

Anthony Bouchard ∙ Updated July 11, 2019

XPS files are essentially like Microsoft's version of a PDF file. They're easy to create and open on a Windows PC, but when it comes to macOS users, XPS files are anything but plug and play.

In this piece, we'll talk about XPS files and what they're used for, and then we'll touch on how to open XPS files on a Mac easily and for free without having to download any software.

How to delete recent Apple Music searches from your iPhone

Anthony Bouchard ∙ Updated December 15, 2022

Apple Music, which is Apple's own answer to the music-streaming industry, is a great place to easily search for a song you want to listen to and then play it on demand.

The only problem is, Apple Music keeps a running history of the songs you search for.

So now when you have your co-pilot in the passenger seat of your car choose a new song for you (because we know you don't use your iPhone and drive at the same time!) he's going to laugh at you because of the last time you felt like jamming out to some really embarrassing music.

Well fret not; in this tutorial, we'll show you how you can delete recent searches from the Apple Music app on your iOS device.

How to stop your iPhone from vibrating when your alarm rings

Anthony Bouchard ∙ Updated November 30, 2017

By default, any time you set an alarm on your iPhone, it'll vibrate when the alarm goes off. For some people, this is a good way to help get woken up, but for others it's a waste of battery and can be completely annoying to hear that loud vibration on the night stand.

In this tutorial, intended for iPhone users only, we'll be showing you how you can set up an alarm so that your iPhone doesn't vibrate when it goes off.

How to enable YouTube’s upcoming Material Design face lift ahead of release

Christian Zibreg ∙ May 11, 2016

YouTube is getting Google's Material Design refresh pretty soon and it looks pretty neat. Aside from the Upload button being replaced by the upload arrow graphics consistently used across Google's mobile apps, you'll notice a Material Design-inspired search field in the center.

More importantly, YouTube's new looks include the background color on the Channel pages matching the header image, rounded icons in the sidebar, more whitespace around videos in the video player and a few other minor changes.

Chrome users can have an advance look at the upcoming refresh right now. Here's how you can enable Material Design on YouTube ahead of its release, in just a few clicks.

How to take a timed screenshot on Mac

Anthony Bouchard ∙ Updated July 19, 2018

Chances are, you're probably so accustomed to taking screenshots on your Mac with the stroke of a few keyboard keys that you didn't even know you could take a timed screenshot. In this tutorial, we'll show you how you can set your Mac up to take a timed screenshot, which depending on the situation, can be very useful.

Ensuring your Mac is receiving updates about new malware and compromised web plug-ins

Christian Zibreg ∙ May 10, 2016

Among the plethora of built-in OS X features that help keep your Mac secure is something called File Quarantine, a download validation technology that checks any downloads for known malware when you try to open them.

File Quarantine is also available in compatible applications like Safari, Messages, iChat and Mail that download files from the Internet or receive files from external sources, such as email attachments.

Additionally, OS X blocks compromised versions of web plug-ins from functioning, including Java web apps and Adobe Flash content, to further limit your Mac's exposure to potential zero day exploits.

In this tutorial, we'll discuss how you can make sure that File Quarantine updates are turned on, which will allow your Mac to receive latest malware definitions and information about compromised web plug-ins from Apple.

How to turn off Netflix’s autoplay feature

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated July 26, 2023

Not everyone is a fan of bing watching. I, for one, rarely watch a dozen episodes of Friends in a row. If you're anything like me, Netflix's autoplay feature is probably something of an annoyance to you.

It's especially worrisome if Netflix uses cellular data: forgetting to stop the playback after you've just finished watching an episode won't stop Netflix from playing the next one automatically, resulting in unwanted data charges.

iDownloadBlog's tutorial series is here to help you with that: in this quick how-to, we'll show you how to turn off the video autoplay feature across all your Netflix devices—they're calling it Post-Play—with just a few clicks.

How to use one-handed zoom on Google Maps

Christian Zibreg ∙ May 10, 2016

Yesterday, iDownloadBlog detailed a cool new one-handed zoom gesture during video capture which Snapchat's latest update has implemented.

This incredibly convenient shortcut permits you to zoom in and out as you're shooting video with Snapchat's camera, in real time. As one of our commenters pointed out, Google Maps has long had a similar shortcut on its native iOS app.

With it, iPhone, iPod touch and iPad users can zoom in and pan around in one-handed mode, without needing to use a two-fingered pinch-zoom gesture. Here's how one-handed zoom mode works on Google Maps for iOS.

Pop-ups in Safari on your Mac? Here’s what to do

Anthony Bouchard ∙ Updated July 10, 2019

I hate pop-ups, and chances are, you probably do too. They're not only a nuisance, but most of the time they're also designed to get in your way to purposely try and scam you and get you to click on malicious material.

Safari in macOS comes with anti-pop-up measures, but those with malicious intent are always coming up with ways to get around those measures.

In this post, we'll talk about what you can do in a scenario when you get these annoying pop-up messages on your Mac and why you might be getting them.

How to use Snapchat’s new one-handed zoom

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated April 19, 2019

We don't hang out on Snapchat on a regular basis, but I myself use the app from time to time to check out new features. Earlier today, my boss Sébastien shared an amazing collection of handy Snapchat tips and trick, created by fifteen-year-old Victoria Samson.

Some of the tricks she demonstrates are quite brilliant, but her video how-tos don't cover Snapchat's latest feature addition—the ability to zoom while recording a video in one-handed mode using a simple gesture. That's precisely what this quick tutorial will discuss: using Snapchat's handy one-handed zoom mode during video capture.