How to

How to manually remove System Preferences panes from your Mac

Christian Zibreg ∙ October 14, 2015

Some third-party apps you install on your Mac might nest custom panes within OS X's System Preferences, mostly those distributed outside the Mac App Store due to sandboxing requirements. Uninstalling such an app automatically removes the underlying pane from System Preferences but not always, leaving you scratching your head.

Case in point: Tuxera's MacFUSE, a dynamically loadable kernel extension.

I needed to mount files to an NTFS-formatted drive the other day so I installed MacFUSE. After removing the app a few days later using its own uninstaller, I noticed its pane in System Preferences was left intact. Should that happen to you, here's how you can safely remove stubborn System Preferences panes from your Mac.

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How to reopen windows and tabs from your last browsing session in Safari for Mac

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated March 1, 2023

If you've ever accidentally closed a Safari window loaded with dozens of tabs, you know how daunting a task recreating them from your browsing history can be. Like many people, I used to be a huge fan of Google's Chrome before I eventually made a switch to Safari.

One of Chrome's simple yet tremendously useful features that I've always valued is a switch in settings telling the app to open with all the windows from your last browsing session.

Apple's desktop Safari, too, has had that feature for a while now but did you know of a hidden option for reopening all windows from the last session?

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How to change dictation language on Apple Watch

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 22, 2019

As part of the Apple Watch setup procedure, you're asked to select your preferred language that will be used system-wide in apps, the user interface and other places. Your choice also determines the language used for dictation.

For example, my watch is set to English even though my mother tongue is Croatian (I just find English user interfaces easier to use).

Unfortunately, this gives me headache if I want to dictate messages to my local buddies in Croatian, not English. But did you know that you can transcribe words spoken in languages other than your default one?

I sure as hell did not and am not ashamed to admit that I was totally oblivious to using multiple languages for the Apple Watch's dictation feature. In this post, I'm going to teach you real quick how to do just that with a few easy-to-follow steps.

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How to mute Activity reminders on Apple Watch for the rest of your day

Christian Zibreg ∙ October 9, 2015

Among the small things Apple's added to watchOS 2 is a new switch allowing you to mute Activity reminders for the rest of your day.

To be clear, hourly alerts to stand up and move a little, as well as other coaching reminders on your Apple Watch, can help a great deal when it comes to meeting your personal fitness goals.

But not everyone is a fitness buff.

If you yourself aren't exactly an active person, you might find Activity alerts a bit distracting, if not downright annoying. But worry not, you can suspend coaching alerts for the rest of your day with just a few taps. Let me show you how.

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How to send video wirelessly from your Mac to TV

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated May 30, 2017

Since OS X 10.9 Mavericks owners of the Apple TV have been able to wirelessly mirror their Mac screen to the big screen TV with an AirPlay feature called AirDisplay. There was just one slight problem: you couldn't stream individual videos without mirroring the whole screen.

Apple has solved this annoyance with OS X 10.11 El Capitan, which introduced richer AirPlay support permitting you to send video from Safari and other apps to the Apple TV.

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How to check what apps are draining your iPhone battery

Sébastien Page ∙ Updated June 21, 2024
See battery usage on iPhone

Battery usage is always a hot topic among smartphone owners, and although I try not to overthink it, there are times when I'm just curious to find out what apps have been draining my battery the most. iOS and iPadOS make it pretty easy to find out the battery percentage an app uses. Here's how to see details about how individual apps have been impacting your iPhone battery.

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How to quickly access Wallet and Apple Pay on the Lock screen

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated July 8, 2022
Hand holding an iPhone with Apple Pay screen showing added payment cards

Those who have tried Apple Pay can attest that paying with your iPhone couldn't be simpler. You just hold your device near the contactless reader with your finger on Touch ID or your face authenticated with Face ID to pay for the goods or services you bought.

But wouldn't it be great if you could choose any payment cards, passes, and loyalty cards from your Apple Pay account on the Lock screen, without having to unlock your iPhone?

You can now make your purchases by double-pressing the Side button or Home button to access Wallet without unlocking your iPhone, a feature partially borrowed from the Apple Watch. You then simply choose a card and authenticate your purchase via Touch ID or Face ID.

Here's how you can enable Wallet access right from the iPhone's Lock screen with just a few taps.

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How to view Live Photos on older devices

Sébastien Page ∙ Updated March 22, 2017

Even though older iPhone models cannot shoot Live Photos, any iOS device running iOS 9 or later can actually see these Live Photos, assuming they were sent in one of the only three ways to share them while preserving the live aspect. In this post, we'll show you how to see these Live Photos on your device.

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