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 Configure Your Mac's Firewall
January 29, 2021
Every Mac ships with a built-in firewall — a service that can be configured to disallow information from entering your Mac. But what is a firewall, and why do you need to use it on your Mac? Firewall Crash Course Every time you request information from the Internet, such as a web page or email message, your Mac sends data packets to request the information. Servers receive the packets, and then send other packets back to your Mac.
Set Your iPad's Clock to 24-Hour Time
January 29, 2021
Many people use a 24-hour clock, also known as “military time,” to keep track of time. This is the most commonly used time notation in the world today, and it’s the international standard notation for time of day. The 24-hour clock is especially popular in military and health care environments. Here’s how to set your iPad’s clock to 24-hour time (military time): From the iPad’s home screen, tap Settings. Tap General.
How to Enable Night Shift on Your Mac
January 28, 2021
Apple says that your Mac’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. Your Mac’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.
How to Find Your Mac's IP Address
January 28, 2021
Your Mac is assigned something called an IP address when it connects to a network. Other devices that are connected to the same network can use this unique identifier to transfer information to and from your Mac. If this sounds confusing, it might help to think of an IP address as your Mac’s home address. Just like physical mail, which is routed to your home via a unique address, digital information is routed to your Mac using an IP address.
How to Use Do Not Disturb on Your iPhone
January 27, 2021
Sometimes you just need to temporarily disable all of the notifications on your iPhone. No phone calls, no notifications, nothing. The Do Not Disturb feature on your iPhone has been specifically designed for this purpose. After you enable this feature, virtually all calls and notifications will be silenced while your iPhone is locked. The default Do Not Disturb settings can be changed to silence even more calls and notifications. Here’s how to turn on the Do Not Disturb feature on your iPhone:
How to Block Scam Likely Calls on Your iPhone
January 26, 2021
You can manually block phone numbers on your iPhone, but if you find yourself getting a lot of “Scam Likely” calls on your iPhone, you can also enable a feature on your iPhone to automatically hide calls from unknown callers. After you enable the Silence Unknown Callers feature, phone calls from numbers that aren’t in your contacts will be silenced and sent to your voice mail. This is a great way to cut down on marketing and scam calls.
How to Check Your iPad's Storage
January 25, 2021
Your iPad has a finite amount of storage space and when it’s gone, it’s gone. Fortunately, there’s a quick and easy way to check your iPad’s total and available storage space. You can also use a feature built into your iPad to see which apps are taking up the most space. The feature allows you to “offload” apps and delete them if necessary. Here’s how to check your iPad’s storage space:
Set Your Mac to Automatically Empty Trash
January 25, 2021
When you’re done with files and folders on your Mac, you drag them to the trash. You can manually empty your Mac’s trash to permanently remove unwanted files or folders. But there’s an easy way to automate the process. By enabling a setting on your Mac, the trash will automatically delete files and folders that are over 30 days old. Here’s how to set your Mac to automatically empty the trash:
How to Check Your iPhone's Battery Health
January 24, 2021
If your iPhone’s battery life seems to be getting shorter and shorter, it might be time to check your iPhone’s battery health. All iPhones ship with batteries that are designed to last for years, but depending on how you typically recharge your iPhone’s battery, the battery’s capacity can be reduced early leading to shorter battery life. Checking your iPhone’s battery health can help you keep an eye on things and make sure your iPhone’s battery isn’t defective.
How to Empty Your Mac's Trash
January 24, 2021
When you’re ready to delete files on your Mac, you drag and drop them on your Mac’s trash can. It’s the equivalent of the Recycling Bin on Windows operating systems. But what happens after you move files to the trash? The trash is essentially a folder on your Mac — a holding spot for files you want to delete eventually, but not quite yet. If you change your mind, you can just drag a file out of the trash and into another folder.