Articles by Matt Cone
Matt Cone is a technical writer at Fastly. He has experience creating documentation for organizations like Linode and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Matt’s first book, Master Your Mac, was published by No Starch Press. To get in touch with Matt, visit https://www.mattcone.com.
How to Make and Receive Phone Calls on Your iPad
February 11, 2021
If you own an iPad and an iPhone, you can enable a feature that allows you to make and receive cellular phone calls from your iPad. This is handy if you primarily work on your iPad and prefer to take calls using whatever Bluetooth headset is connected to your iPad. This is a free feature that works even when you’re not next to your iPhone. Prerequisites To make and receive phone calls on your iPad, make sure you’ve done the following:
How to Make and Receive Phone Calls on Your Mac
February 10, 2021
If you own a Mac and an iPhone, you can enable a feature that allows you to make and receive cellular phone calls from your Mac. This is handy if you primarily work on your Mac and prefer to take calls using whatever Bluetooth headset is connected to your Mac. This is a free feature that works even when you’re not next to your iPhone. Prerequisites To make and receive phone calls on your Mac, make sure you’ve done the following:
How to Connect an iPad to a Wi-Fi Network
February 9, 2021
If you’re a new iPad owner, one of the first things you’ll need to learn how to do is connect your iPad to a wireless network. That’s because the iPad, being the small and portable device it is, just screams to be taken to the coffee shop. And the airport. And your friend’s house. All of which have wireless networks, or wi-fi networks as they’re referred to in iOS. Fortunately, it’s easy to connect an iPad to a wi-fi network.
How to Customize Your Mac's Clock
February 8, 2021
Every Mac comes with a little digital clock built into your Mac’s menu bar. You probably already knew that. But what you might not know is that your menu bar clock can be customized to show or hide a variety of information. Or, if you’re so inclined, you can turn off the digital clock and switch to an analog version. Here’s how to do it: From the Apple menu, select System Preferences.
How to Read Kindle Books on an iPad
February 8, 2021
Amazon’s Kindle devices have become synonymous with ebooks. But did you know that there’s also a way to read Kindle books on an iPad? With the free Kindle application for iPad, you can read all of your Kindle books on your iPad — for free. Here’s how to read Kindle books on an iPad: Download and install the free Kindle app for iPad. It’s available from Apple’s App Store. Open the Kindle app on your iPad.
Tell Your iPad to Forget a Wireless Network
February 7, 2021
When you connect an iPad to a wi-fi network, the iPad remembers that network and will automatically attempt to connect to it in the future. This is a great feature for wi-fi networks you trust and use frequently. But mistakes happen. If you connect to the wrong network at a coffee shop, your iPad will automatically attempt to join that network every time you visit the coffee shop in the future.
How to Enable Your Mac's Audio Equalizer
February 6, 2021
Your Mac has an audio equalizer (EQ) that allows you to adjust the sound quality of music. The Mac’s equalizer isn’t as fancy as the physical ones that allow you to manually adjust the levels, but it does have a number of presets that will dramatically improve the sound quality of the music you play on your Mac. Unfortunately, the Mac’s equalizer only changes the audio from the Music app. Audio produced by other apps won’t be changed by the equalizer.
Enabling the iPad's Audio Equalizer
February 5, 2021
It seems ridiculous now, but in high school I purchased a Pioneer stereo system capable of pumping out over 1,000 watts of sound. The speakers and components were huge. It took three car trips just to get everything home from the store! The only thing I miss about that system is the equalizer on the amp, which allowed me to adjust the output of the sound levels. Believe it or not, your iPad has an audio equalizer too.
How to Change Your iPhone's EQ (Equalizer)
February 5, 2021
Your iPhone has an audio EQ (equalizer) that allows you to adjust the sound quality of music. The iPhone EQ isn’t as fancy as the physical ones that allow you to manually adjust the levels, but it does have a number of presets that will dramatically improve the sound quality of the music you play on your iPhone. Unfortunately, the iPhone’s EQ only changes the audio from the Music app. Audio produced by other apps, such as Videos or YouTube, won’t be changed by the EQ.
How to Enable Night Shift on Your iPad
February 4, 2021
Apple says that your iPad’s display provides a “brilliant viewing experience,” which means it’s very bright. That’s great during the day, when you probably need the display to be as bright as possible, but what about at night? Recent research suggests that starting at screens after sunset can disrupt your sleep cycles. What is Night Shift, and what does it do on your iPad? The iPad’s Night Shift feature customizes your display’s lighting by changing the color of your screen, so you’re not as wired when you try to go to sleep.