You undoubtedly know about Apple’s version numbering scheme for its operating systems—iOS 13.5.1 and macOS 10.15.5, for instance. But did you know Apple also has a hidden build numbering scheme that can be even more useful? Former Apple engineer David Shayer explains how to decode build numbers and learn from them.
Backblaze’s annual poll asking how often people back up their data shows small improvements across the board. But the percentage of people who either don’t back up at all or back up once a year or less is still far too high.
With another WWDC behind us, that means it's beta season, with new versions of macOS, iOS, watchOS, and tvOS for developers brave enough to test them. Former Apple engineer David Shayer explains what you need to do to increase the chances that Apple will fix the bugs you report.
In the unfortunate event that a family member dies without sharing passwords or other Apple account information, there’s still a way to get Apple to provide access. Read on for details.
Did you know that Apple automatically deletes iCloud backups of your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch 6 months after the last backup was made? Even when you continue to pay for iCloud storage space? Neither did we, and while it’s not a common problem, plenty of people have suffered from it.
If you’ve seen some strange behavior on your iPhone or iPad lately, such as a message that an app is no longer shared or large numbers of apps updating at once, it was a bug that Apple has now fixed.
A surprising number of people continue to force-quit iOS apps and restart or shut down their iOS devices as a matter of habit. Except when recovering from a frozen app or misbehaving device, those behaviors will reduce battery life and hurt performance. Here’s why.
What should you do if you spill liquid on your laptop? The repair experts at iFixit tell you what to do. Save your rice for dinner.
Adam Engst recently scheduled a Zoom call with colleagues on a non-profit board and had to apologize when one of them was irritated at ending up in Google Hangouts by himself for 10 minutes. The problem arose due to a confluence of issues with Siri and Google Calendar—read on to learn how to avoid similar embarrassments.
After working through the failure of his iMac’s SSD, Adam Engst shares the lessons he learned with regard to backing up, restoring, and eking out the most life from old hardware. Hint: waiting to upgrade hardware and software can make troubleshooting and recovery more difficult.
Looking for some quick Apple-related project ideas? The company is releasing high-quality how-to videos from Apple Store employees working from home.
Have you run across Web sites that steal control of your Web browser so you can’t copy text or use standard system functions? StopTheMadness can give you back control over your browser.
After being warned by both iCloud and Gmail that he was running low on storage space, Adam Engst embarked on a mission to free up cloud space rather than pay for more than he needs. If your clouds are filling up too, follow along to avoid missing email, failing file syncs, and more.
Many interpreted the Apple Independent Repair Program as an olive branch to third-party repair shops, but Motherboard has found businesses balking at Apple’s “onerous” terms.
If you’re curious about how Time Machine works or are troubleshooting a problem with your Time Machine backups, Howard Oakley has a lengthy series with useful details about Apple’s backup solution.